Singapore seizes alleged launderer’s millions in Swiss banks
By Chanyaporn Chanjaroen and Low De Wei
(Bloomberg) — Singapore police seized S$125 million ($92 million) from a suspected money launderer’s accounts with Bank Julius Baer and Credit Suisse Group AG’s local unit as a billion-dollar scandal continues to unfold.
Authorities took hold of S$92 million held by Turkish national Vang Shuiming in Credit Suisse Singapore, according to an affidavit by the police and presented in the Singapore High Court on Tuesday. Another S$33 million was seized from his Julius Baer account. The amounts were much larger than the S$2.6 million frozen at RHB Bank Bhd. and S$600,000 at UOB Kay Hian Pte.
Spokespeople for Julius Baer and Credit Suisse declined to comment, while RHB and UOB Kay Hian didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. The judge denied a request from Vang’s lawyer to have him released on bail. At Wednesday’s court hearing, all 10 people so far charged in this case had their remand extended.
The probe erupted into public view in mid-August after police arrested 10 foreigners — all originating from China — and accused them of forgery and laundering criminal proceeds. Another 12 are assisting with the investigations and eight others are wanted by police. Banks, property agents and golf clubs in the city have been drawn into the scandal involving more than S$1.8 billion of assets.
A lawyer for one of the suspects said an ex-employee of Citigroup Inc.’s Singapore subsidiary, Wang Qiming, has also been under investigation and is currently out on bail. Wang’s contact details aren’t publicly available and he couldn’t be reached for comment.
Citigroup earlier said it’s been working with authorities to strengthen and protect the integrity of the financial system. A spokesperson said Wang hasn’t been employed by the bank since April 2022, and that the firm doesn’t comment on matters that are before the courts.
Vang — also known as Wang Shuiming — is wanted in China for illegal gambling activities, along with his brother Wang Shuiting, according to the affidavit. His brother is among the eight people at large.
The police said in the affidavit that seizure orders were sent to eight financial institutions and their balances were obtained. They also sent initial requests for documents to financial institutions Vang and his wife had assets in on Aug. 21. The four banks replied about a week later, while information was still pending from five financial firms.
In arguing to extend Vang’s remand, authorities said they made further requests for information on specific transactions and the large sums meant more time was needed to trace funds.
Vang also financed the purchase of 11 luxury homes still being built in upscale neighborhoods in Singapore, according to court documents. The 10 units at Canninghill Piers and one unit at Park Nova are prohibited by a court order from being sold.
CapitaLand Development and City Developments Ltd., which are developing Canninghill Piers, said they are not able to comment as investigations are ongoing. Park Nova’s Shun Tak Holdings did not respond to a request for comment.
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