AN ADDITIONAL S$1.9 billion in assets seized from the major anti-money laundering case that broke in Singapore last year have been surrendered to the state, the police said on Monday (Nov 18).
The amount represents 98.6 per cent of the assets the police seized and issued prohibition-of-disposal orders on. The assets were linked to 17 suspects who fled the Republic during the police operation that took place on Aug 15, 2023.
The police said that 15 of the 17 individuals have agreed to surrender the assets to the state, naming them as: Su Yongcan, Wang Huoqiang, Su Fuxiang, Su Binghai, Wang Bingang, Su Shuiming, Su Shuijun, Ke Wendi, Wang Shuiting, Chen Zhiqiang, Liu Jiarong, Chen Peiyong, Zhao Dongying, Chen Mulin, and Hu Chengmei.
The Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) advised the police that since the locations of the 17 individuals are unknown, having them extradited to Singapore would be difficult, and the evidence against them may not be sufficient.
In consultation with AGC, the police agreed to withdraw the Interpol Red and Blue notices filed against these individuals, in return for the immediate surrender of the assets.
The remaining two suspects – Xu Haika and Xu Hainan – have assets of S$144.9 million linked to them, which remain seized or subject to prohibition-of-disposal orders.
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The police added that lawyers of the two have not made contact with AGC, and their assets will be dealt with under the Anti-Money Laundering and Other Matters Act, passed in Parliament on Aug 6, 2024.
The August 2023 operation, which identified 27 foreign nationals and netted around S$3 billion in cash and assets, uncovered the biggest case of money laundering in Singapore. The assets included jewellery, watches, cryptocurrency, bank accounts, luxury cars and bottles of alcohol.
During the probe, 10 suspects were arrested and have since been sentenced to jail. In June this year, Su Jianfeng, the last of the 10, was handed down a 17-month jail term.
It was announced that S$944 million in assets linked to the 10 – representing 92.1 per cent of the total assets seized – would be surrendered to the state in June.
Nearly S$650,000 was spent to maintain the seized assets, Minister for Home Affairs and Law K Shanmugam said in May this year.
