Bearbricks and a Billion Dollars - Fujian Chinese Money Laundering Gang Arrested in Singapore
The Asian Crime Century briefing 33
On 15 August, over 400 officers from the Singapore Police conducted raids on premises around the city and arrested ten people alleged to have been involved in forgery, money laundering, as well as related online fraud and online gambling. The Singapore case is illustrative of the scale of the growing regional problem.
The case is a major attack on the growing problem of Chinese organised crime gangs that are operating around the region, expanding continually with criminal businesses involving online illegal sports betting / gambling, online fraud, people trafficking, imprisonment of trafficked people to participate in online crime, as well as traditional criminal business lines of drug trafficking and laundering the proceeds of crime from around Asia. This is a regional problem, and the Singapore Police have struck a major blow on a local level. The next step requires a regional collaborative law enforcement focus with strong operational enforcement against similar gangs in other countries as well as the seizure of their proceeds of crime.
The Singapore Police operation is huge in scale, involving according to the police announcement “Prohibition of disposal orders [that] were issued against 94 properties and 50 vehicles, with a total estimated value of more than S$815 million [and] more than 35 related bank accounts with a total estimated balance of more than S$110 million for investigations and to prevent dissipation of suspected criminal proceeds.” The seizures also include around 60 “Bearbricks”, Japanese collectible toys that have increased in value to hundreds of thousands of dollars and are sought after by collectors.
Property is a key part of the alleged money laundering, with 105 properties issued with prohibition of disposal orders including seven bungalows at Sentosa Cove, 79 condominium units and 19 commercial spaces linked to the case.
The Police also seized a large amount of cash, including foreign currencies, amounting to more than S$23 million:
Money laundering is clearly a full time job that involves an awful lot of shopping. The diversity of items seized was shocking, but illustrated how the criminal gang was laundering the proceeds of online crimes by buying assets. These included bottles of liquor and wine:
Police seized more than 250 luxury bags:
And also a large number of watches:
And more than 270 pieces of jewellery, two gold bars, and documents with information on virtual assets:
The extent of this criminal haul raises the question of exactly who were these secret shoppers? The Singapore Police released details of the arrested persons, which is indicative of the background to the criminal gang’s activities.
A 40-year-old male Cypriot national, who jumped off a second floor balcony trying to evade police, was arrested at his residence where other foreign passports from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Cambodia were found. The man is reportedly Mr. Su Haijin, a Mainland Chinese national from Fujian Province with a Cypriot passport (The People’s Republic of China does not recognise dual nationality). He was reportedly a director of the Singapore restaurant operator ‘No Signboard Holdings’ from October 2021 to June 2022. In relation to Mr. Su residence, the Police seized over S$2.1 million in cash in multiple foreign currencies, froze four related bank accounts with a total balance of more than S$6.7 million, issued prohibition of disposal orders for 13 properties and five vehicles with an estimated value of more than S$118 million, as well as multiple ornaments and bottles of liquor and wine.
Reports indicate that all ten of those arrested were originally from Fujian Province in the PRC, but most have passports and citizenship from countries where money laundering is notorious. Zhang Ruijin, charged with forgery, reportedly had a foreign passport believed to be issued by Saint Kitts and Nevis, an island country in the Caribbean. Lin Baoying, who was referred to as Zhang’s lover, was reportedly found with passports issued by the Dominican Republic and Turkey. Chen Qingyuan, charged with money laundering, was reportedly found in possession of passports believed to be issued by Cambodia, China, and the Dominican Republic. Su Baolin, charged with using a forged document, was reportedly found in possession of passports issued by Cambodia and China. Su Wenqiang, charged with one count of money laundering, had passports believed to be issued by Cambodia and China. Wang Dehai, charged with one count of money laundering, reportedly had passports from Cyprus, Cambodia and China. Su Jianfeng, charged with money-laundering, reportedly had passports from Vanuatu and China. Vang Shuiming, charged with one count of using a forged document, reportedly had passports from Turkey, China, and Vanuatu.
The obvious conclusion is that this is an organised Chinese criminal gang engaged in money laundering of the proceeds of a wide range of crimes and able to operate internationally because of their access to passports issued by countries where citizenship is often available for purchase by almost anyone with sufficient cash.
They are part of a growing diaspora of Chinese (PRC) nationals who have access to cash and use this to migrate away from China. Singapore is a prime destination for many. Chinese investors, and criminals, move their cash to destinations that are safest and also have the highest available rate of return. Singapore clearly fits this description as it is arguably now the primary wealth management hub in the region, a destination for Chinese family offices to park their money safely (reportedly from 50 family offices in 2018 to 700 by the end of 2021), and a useful jumping off point to invest outwards into South East Asia, India, as well as Dubai and the rest of the Middle East. Wealthy Chinese (PRC nationals) have been flocking to the “Switzerland of Asia”, as Singapore has been described, and clearly criminals have been amongst this group of migrants.
Despite the value of Singapore as an investment centre, it is hard to understand why this criminal gang chose to base their money laundering operation in the city as despite the role of the city as a hub for wealth in the region (including from questionable sources in countries such as Myanmar) the authorities in Singapore are the harshest in the region when they attack financial crime. Mr. David Chew, Director of the Commercial Affairs Department of the Singapore Police, is reported as saying that “We have zero tolerance for the use of Singapore as a safe haven for criminals or their families nor for the abuse of our banking facilities. Our message to these criminals is simple — if we catch you, we will arrest you. If we find your ill-gotten gains, we will seize them. We will deal with you to the fullest extent of our laws.”
This is the right approach. The Singapore authorities have always taken a strong approach to dealing with all crime and know that the reputation of the city as a regional and global financial hub depends upon a consistent approach to both anti-corruption as well as anti-financial crime. It would be a foolish organised crime group that doubts this commitment, as shown by this case.
The next step in this battle against fast increasing financial crime across Asia would be for the Singapore authorities to take the lead in coordinating a regional response. Singapore has the right people in law enforcement, good resources to bring to bear, and commitment to show the city as a beacon against financial crime.