New charges for $3b money laundering accused over false financial statements to Iras, MOM

Su Haijin now faces 14 charges in total, and is set to plead guilty on April 4. PHOTO: WECHAT

SINGAPORE – Su Haijin, one of the accused in Singapore’s largest money laundering case, was on April 1 handed 12 more charges, the most dished out in the case in a day.

Three of his new charges allege that he abetted a Mr Wang Junjie by engaging in a conspiracy with Mr Wang to make false representations to the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore with regard to Yihao Cyber Technologies’ revenue, gross profits and trade receivables.

These allegedly happened between 2020 and 2022.

Su, 41, also allegedly abetted Mr Wang in making false representations to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) in May 2022 for Yihao’s 2021 financial year.

Another three charges accuse him of conspiring with Mr Wang in 2022 to submit forged financial statements from Yihao to DBS Bank, OCBC Bank and UOB.

These statements were for the 2021 financial year, and were submitted to DBS and UOB in support of an application by Su to open corporate bank accounts for Yihao. As for OCBC, Su allegedly sought to join the bank’s premier private client segment.

The Straits Times previously reported that Mr Wang held positions in nine companies linked to three of the 10 accused in the money laundering probe.

He also held multiple directorships and secretarial and shareholder positions in 185 companies.

On Jan 18, the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (Acra) had Mr Wang’s registration as a qualified individual cancelled.

Su also faces two new money laundering charges, which accuse him of possessing more than $1.4 million in Yihao’s DBS and UOB accounts, believed to be benefits from unlawful remote gambling offences. 

His three remaining new charges relate to making false statements to MOM’s Controller of Work Passes.

In 2021, he allegedly instructed one Ms Wu Qin, believed to be his wife, to sign and declare in an employment pass form to the Controller of Work Passes that she would be employed as chairman at Culbert Management. He allegedly instructed her to sign a renewal form in 2023 declaring that she would continue to be chairman of the company.

He also allegedly told a Ms Chen Yanyan to sign an employment pass form in 2023 that stated she would be employed by Culbert Management as a personal assistant.

Culbert Management is listed on an Acra business record as a live company providing management consultancy services.

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Su, who is listed as a Cypriot national in his charge sheets, now faces 14 charges in total, and is set to plead guilty on April 4.

He was among 10 foreigners arrested on Aug 15, 2023, in islandwide raids on luxury homes across Singapore, including in Tanglin, Bukit Timah, Orchard Road, Sentosa and River Valley.

The assets seized in the case are now worth more than $3 billion.

Su’s two earlier charges were for resisting arrest in Singapore and for money laundering.

His first charge alleges that he refused to open his room door when police raided his residence in Ewart Park in Bukit Timah on Aug 15, 2023, and instead left the room via the second-floor balcony.

He fractured his hands and legs after jumping from the balcony, and appeared in court for several mentions via video link from Changi General Hospital.

His second charge, which was amended on April 1, alleges that he possessed nearly $2.4 million through Yihao’s OCBC account, which is suspected of being benefits from unlawful remote gambling offences.

The sum, which Su is said to have failed to account for satisfactorily, was allegedly received in the bank account through 10 transactions from Jan 15, 2021, to Oct 12, 2021.

If convicted of resisting arrest, Su can be jailed for up to a year and fined.

If convicted of money laundering, he can be fined up to $500,000 and jailed for up to 10 years.

The authorities have seized more than $170 million in assets from Su and his wife.

ST previously reported that a company partly owned by Su paid more than $73 million for two buildings in London.

The buildings at 283 Oxford Street and 11 Princes Street, which back onto each other, were sold for £43.3 million (S$73.7 million) on Dec 17, 2021, to New Yihao, according to property records in Britain.

The 10 accused are (clockwise from top left) Su Baolin, Su Haijin, Chen Qingyuan, Su Wenqiang, Lin Baoying, Zhang Ruijin, Wang Dehai, Su Jianfeng, Vang Shuiming and Wang Baosen. ST ILLUSTRATIONS: CEL GULAPA

New Yihao was registered in tax haven Jersey, a British Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. The company was set up just two months before the purchases.

It lists Su as a beneficial owner, with more than a 25 per cent stake in a trust that controls the company.

According to an affidavit filed by the Commercial Affairs Department, Su admitted to having 10 properties abroad worth more than $14.2 million. Aside from the Oxford Street building in London, he said he owned a condo in Cambodia, three condos in Cyprus, and five condos in Macau.

He also has partial ownership of a yacht named Family, which is valued at US$4 million (S$5.4 million).

Su Wenqiang, a 32-year-old Cambodian national who faces 11 charges, is set to be the first among the 10 accused to plead guilty on April 2.

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