SINGAPORE: Two men remanded for an ongoing money laundering probe involving 10 people and more than S$1 billion in assets received more charges on Wednesday (Aug 30) for having millions in cash, cryptocurrency and cars that came from the proceeds of illegal online gambling.
Chen Qingyuan, a 33-year-old Cambodian national, was handed three fresh charges of possessing property representing the benefits of criminal conduct, bringing his total number of charges to four.
The new charges state that Chen had possessions that came from illegal online gambling offences. These include a white Land Rover, a Range Rover, more than S$6 million in cash in Citibank Singapore bank accounts, and 170,284.9808 in Tether cryptocurrency, which is worth about US$1.78 million (S$2.4 million) as of Wednesday.
The prosecutor said more than S$20 million in assets had been seized in relation to Chen, and the extra remand given last week had resulted in the three new money laundering charges.
She asked for another eight days' remand, pointing to the continued risk of collusion and contamination as investigations suggest there may be witnesses and other parties involved.
Defence lawyer Mark Tan asked for bail, saying his client is not a flight risk as his passport has been seized, and that Chen has "strong ties to Singapore", with his wife and three children here.
Mr Tan said his client, prior to his arrest, was an expatriate in Singapore and the chief executive officer of a company providing cloud solutions, with 25 employees.
He said his client wanted to go back to running his company and in charity and volunteer work.
The prosecutor responded that Chen is a foreigner holding multiple passports, with income and real estate overseas.
His risk of absconding is heightened, now that his assets in Singapore have been seized, said the prosecutor.
The judge denied bail and ordered Chen to be remanded for another eight days as requested by the prosecution. Chen tried to ask to speak to his wife, who was in court, but was denied.
Su Wenqiang, a 31-year-old Cambodian, was given a new charge, bringing his total number of charges to two.
His fresh charge states that he bought a Mercedes Benz AMG C63S around Jan 28, 2022, using S$500,000 that were proceeds from an illegal remote gambling service based in the Philippines for users in China.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Gan Ee Kiat said Su was arrested as part of a police anti-money-laundering operation "of unprecedented size and scope in Singapore".
"The accused is being investigated for money laundering and forgery offences," said Mr Gan. "He has considerable amounts of wealth in Singapore, with a combined value of at least S$2.6 million, including S$2 million in Singapore bank accounts."
"We suspect that such wealth is tainted, and fund-tracing by CAD (Commercial Affairs Department) remains in progress."
Mr Gan said that Su has "significant wealth overseas", apart from his assets in Singapore. For example, he has a house overseas that is worth about S$2 million, registered in his wife's name.
Mr Gan said investigations have unearthed potential links between Su and other people in respect of criminal activities in foreign jurisdictions, comprising his co-accused and individuals who are on the run.
Investigations are revealing "multiple potential leads and investigative factors, which show the increasing scale and developing complexity of this case", said Mr Gan.
Su's lawyer, Mr Manoj Prakash Nandwani, said his client's wife and two young children were in Singapore, with the children enrolled in an international school here.
Based on the charge, the lawyer said it "appears that the prosecution is unsure if the offence even occurred in Singapore, given the tentative language used".
He said his preliminary instructions from his client are that he did not engage in using remote communications in any form of remote gambling in Singapore.
"I am told that, your honour, if there was any remote gambling, that activity has been restricted to overseas, not Singapore," said the lawyer, asking for bail to be granted.
In response, Mr Gan said "this is a money-laundering offence".
"The predicate offence can be offences committed in Singapore or overseas, as long as the requirements in the CDSA (Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act) are satisfied," he said.
He asked for Su to be remanded, so that "CAD can be assisted in the herculean task before them".
The rest of the 10 accused in the case are set to appear in court via video-link on Wednesday
Continue reading...
Chen Qingyuan, a 33-year-old Cambodian national, was handed three fresh charges of possessing property representing the benefits of criminal conduct, bringing his total number of charges to four.
The new charges state that Chen had possessions that came from illegal online gambling offences. These include a white Land Rover, a Range Rover, more than S$6 million in cash in Citibank Singapore bank accounts, and 170,284.9808 in Tether cryptocurrency, which is worth about US$1.78 million (S$2.4 million) as of Wednesday.
The prosecutor said more than S$20 million in assets had been seized in relation to Chen, and the extra remand given last week had resulted in the three new money laundering charges.
She asked for another eight days' remand, pointing to the continued risk of collusion and contamination as investigations suggest there may be witnesses and other parties involved.
Defence lawyer Mark Tan asked for bail, saying his client is not a flight risk as his passport has been seized, and that Chen has "strong ties to Singapore", with his wife and three children here.
Mr Tan said his client, prior to his arrest, was an expatriate in Singapore and the chief executive officer of a company providing cloud solutions, with 25 employees.
He said his client wanted to go back to running his company and in charity and volunteer work.
The prosecutor responded that Chen is a foreigner holding multiple passports, with income and real estate overseas.
His risk of absconding is heightened, now that his assets in Singapore have been seized, said the prosecutor.
The judge denied bail and ordered Chen to be remanded for another eight days as requested by the prosecution. Chen tried to ask to speak to his wife, who was in court, but was denied.
Related:
SU WENQIANG
Su Wenqiang, a 31-year-old Cambodian, was given a new charge, bringing his total number of charges to two.
His fresh charge states that he bought a Mercedes Benz AMG C63S around Jan 28, 2022, using S$500,000 that were proceeds from an illegal remote gambling service based in the Philippines for users in China.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Gan Ee Kiat said Su was arrested as part of a police anti-money-laundering operation "of unprecedented size and scope in Singapore".
"The accused is being investigated for money laundering and forgery offences," said Mr Gan. "He has considerable amounts of wealth in Singapore, with a combined value of at least S$2.6 million, including S$2 million in Singapore bank accounts."
"We suspect that such wealth is tainted, and fund-tracing by CAD (Commercial Affairs Department) remains in progress."
Mr Gan said that Su has "significant wealth overseas", apart from his assets in Singapore. For example, he has a house overseas that is worth about S$2 million, registered in his wife's name.
Mr Gan said investigations have unearthed potential links between Su and other people in respect of criminal activities in foreign jurisdictions, comprising his co-accused and individuals who are on the run.
Investigations are revealing "multiple potential leads and investigative factors, which show the increasing scale and developing complexity of this case", said Mr Gan.
Su's lawyer, Mr Manoj Prakash Nandwani, said his client's wife and two young children were in Singapore, with the children enrolled in an international school here.
Based on the charge, the lawyer said it "appears that the prosecution is unsure if the offence even occurred in Singapore, given the tentative language used".
He said his preliminary instructions from his client are that he did not engage in using remote communications in any form of remote gambling in Singapore.
"I am told that, your honour, if there was any remote gambling, that activity has been restricted to overseas, not Singapore," said the lawyer, asking for bail to be granted.
In response, Mr Gan said "this is a money-laundering offence".
"The predicate offence can be offences committed in Singapore or overseas, as long as the requirements in the CDSA (Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act) are satisfied," he said.
He asked for Su to be remanded, so that "CAD can be assisted in the herculean task before them".
The rest of the 10 accused in the case are set to appear in court via video-link on Wednesday
Related:
Continue reading...