$1b money laundering case: 11 more properties linked to suspects

SINGAPORE - Eleven more properties were issued with prohibition of disposal orders in the billion-dollar anti-money laundering case involving foreigners from Fujian, said the police on Friday (Aug 18).

This takes the total number of properties issued with prohibition of disposal orders in this case to 105 after 94 properties were earlier issued with the orders.

The orders mean the suspects cannot sell these properties.

The 105 properties, estimated to be worth $831 million, include seven detached bungalows at Sentosa Cove and 79 condominium units, 19 of which are under construction.

Another 19 commercial or industrial spaces were issued with the prohibition of disposal orders.

The police said these properties are owned by the individuals under investigation.

They include those who had been arrested or are wanted by the police, their spouses, or companies linked to these people.

The police added that the good class bungalows (GCBs) where the foreigners from Fujian were arrested in the islandwide anti-money laundering blitz on Tuesday are not owned by them.

These GCBs are not part of the 105 properties issued with prohibition of disposal orders.

The police said they have neither seized nor issued prohibition of disposal orders against any GCBs in relation to this case.

On Tuesday, the police conducted a massive islandwide blitz, hitting several GCBs and high-end condominiums across Singapore simultaneously to nab several suspects involved in possible illicit activities.

The areas raided included Tanglin, Bukit Timah, Orchard Road, Sentosa and River Valley.

Ten people, including a woman, were charged on Wednesday night.

They are aged 31 to 44, and are suspected to be involved in offences of forgery, money laundering or resisting arrest.

Another 12 are assisting in investigations, while eight more people are currently on the run and have been placed on a wanted list.

The police said on Wednesday that the blitz involved more than 400 officers, including those from the Criminal Investigation Department, Commercial Affairs Department, Special Operations Command, and Police Intelligence Department.

The group of foreign nationals are allegedly involved in laundering the proceeds of crime from their organised crime activities overseas, linked to scams and online gambling.

The police had identified them through extensive investigations, including the analysis of suspicious transaction reports made by financial institutions about suspicious activity.

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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.