Singapore Police Force (SPF) Ninth Person Sentenced For Money Laundering Offences In Anti-Money Laundering Operation

Ninth Person Sentenced For Money Laundering Offences In Anti-Money Laundering Operation

On 7 June 2024, Wang Dehai (“Wang”), a 35-year-old Cypriot national, was convicted and sentenced to 16 months’ imprisonment for an offence under Section 55 of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act (“CDSA”). An additional five charges were taken into consideration for sentencing.

Wang was one of the 10 foreign nationals arrested on 15 August 2023, during a large scale, island-wide raid conducted by Police in relation to their investigations into a group of foreign nationals suspected of laundering the proceeds of overseas organised crime activities in Singapore.

The Police subsequently seized and prohibited disposal of about S$54.5 million worth of assets belonging to Wang, his wife Su Caihuang, and their companies. The State Court has ordered the forfeiture of about S$49.2 million (about 90 per cent) of the assets to the State.

Background of the case

Investigations revealed that since 2012, Wang had been involved in a group that operated an unlawful remote gambling business based in the Philippines, which offered remote gambling services to persons in the People’s Republic of China.

Wang started working as a customer service staff for the unlawful remote gambling business in the Philippines, and received a monthly salary. He became a promoter around 2014 and was given a 3% share of the annual profit. In 2016, Wang received a total income of RMB 80 million. In 2022, while he was no longer involved in the operation of the remote gambling business, he received a payout of HKD 8 million, which was his last payout from the business.

During the raid conducted by the Police on 15 August 2023, Wang had in his possession a luggage containing cash amounting to S$2,299,950 at his home. During the raid, Wang initially claimed that he was unaware of the contents of the luggage as the luggage belonged to his wife. Wang admitted that the cash in the luggage belonged to him, after the Police asked his wife to open the luggage. Subsequently, he gave inconsistent accounts for the source of these monies. He first claimed that it was partly derived from the sale of his cryptocurrency, with some possibly handed to him by his brother-in-law, Su Yongcan, or from his winnings from mahjong games. His eventual account was that these monies were a loan from Su Yongcan to him, which he had collected from an unknown person in the vicinity of ION Orchard shopping centre around the end of October 2022. Wang has not substantiated any of these accounts and had failed to account satisfactorily as to how he came to possess the cash.

Wang was charged with the following offences:

One count of money laundering offence under Section 55(1) punishable under Section 55(2) of the CDSA;
One count of money laundering offence under Section 47AA(1) punishable under Section 47AA(2) of the CDSA;
Three counts of abetment of making false declarations in applications for a work pass under Section 22(1)(d) read with Section 23(1) of the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act (“EFMA”); and
One count of abetment of the employment of a foreign employee without a valid work pass under Section 5(1) read with Section 23(1) of the EFMA.

Related cases

Eight of the accused persons arrested during the same raid: Su Wenqiang, a 32-year-old Cambodian national; Su Haijin, a 41-year-old Cypriot national; Wang Baosen, a 32-year-old Chinese national; Su Baolin, a 42-year-old Cambodian national; Zhang Ruijin, a 45-year-old Chinese national; Vang Shuiming, a 43-year-old Turkish national; Chen Qingyuan, a 34-year-old Cambodian national; and Lin Baoying, a 44-year-old Chinese national; have been convicted and sentenced. Annex A sets out the sentencing outcomes of the nine accused persons who have been convicted and sentenced in relation to this case.

Court proceedings for the last accused person related to the case, Su Jianfeng, are ongoing. Annex B sets out the offences with which he has been convicted.

Annex A – Sentencing outcomes of nine accused persons

SN	Name	Sentencing outcomes
1	Su Wenqiang	Convicted and sentenced to 13 months’ imprisonment for two counts of money laundering under Section 54(1) of the CDSA. 100 per cent forfeiture of seized assets (amounting to around S$6 million) to the State.
2	Su Haijin	Convicted and sentenced to 14 months’ imprisonment for one count of resistance to lawful apprehension under Section 225B of the Penal Code and two counts of money laundering under Section 55 of the CDSA. About 95 per cent forfeiture of seized/prohibited assets (amounting to more than S$165 million) to the State.
3	Wang Baosen	Convicted and sentenced to 13 months’ imprisonment for two counts of money laundering under Section 55 of the CDSA. 100 per cent forfeiture of seized/prohibited assets (amounting to about S$8 million) to the State.
4	Su Baolin	Convicted and sentenced to 14 months’ imprisonment for one count of abetting another to make false representations under Section 424A read with Section 109 of the Penal Code and two counts of money laundering under Section 55 of theCDSA. About 90 per cent forfeiture of seized/prohibited assets (amounting to around S$65 million) to the State.
5	Zhang Ruijin	Convicted and sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment for two counts of fraudulently using a forged document under Section 471 read with Section 465 of the Penal Code and one count of money laundering under Section 47AA of theCDSA. About 90 per cent forfeiture of seized/prohibited assets (amounting to about S$118 million) to the State.
6	Vang Shuiming	Convicted and sentenced to 13 months and six weeks’ imprisonment for one count of fraudulently using a forged document under Section 471 read with Section 465 of the Penal Code and two counts of money laundering under Section 55 of theCDSA. About 90 per cent forfeiture of seized/prohibited assets (amounting to about S$179 million) to the State.
7	Chen Qingyuan	Convicted and sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment for one count of fraudulently using a forged document under Section 471 read with Section 465 of the Penal Code and two counts of money laundering under Section 55 of theCDSA. About 91 per cent forfeiture of seized/prohibited assets (amounting to about S$21.3 million) to the State.
8	Lin Baoying	Convicted and sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment for two counts of fraudulently using a forged document under Section 471 read with Section 465 of the Penal Code and one count of money laundering under 47AA(1) punishable under Section 47AA(2) of theCDSA. About 90 per cent forfeiture of seized/prohibited assets (amounting to about S$154 million) to the State.
9	Wang Dehai	Convicted and sentenced to 16 month's imprisoment for one count of money laundering under Section 55 of the CDSA. About 90 per cent forfeiture of seized/prohibited assets (amounting to about S$49.2 million) to the State.

Annex B – Pending court case against one accused person

SN	Name	Details of offences
1	Su Jianfeng	Convicted on 6 Jun 2024 for one count of fradulently using a forged document under Section 471 read with Section 465 of the Penal Code and one count of moneylaundering under Section 5(1)(c) of the CDSA. Sentencing is fixed on 10 Jun 2024.

PUBLIC AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
07 June 2024 @ 4:15 PM