On 29 April 2024, Su Baolin, a 42-year-old Cambodian national, was 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 1871 and two counts of money laundering under Section 55 of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992 (“CDSA”). An additional 10 charges were taken into consideration for sentencing.
Su Baolin 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 its investigations into a group of foreign nationals suspected of laundering the proceeds of their overseas organised crime activities in Singapore. During his arrest, Su Baolin was found in possession of cash and other assets which were suspected to be proceeds from his criminal conduct.
The Police initially seized and prohibited the disposal of or dealing with about S$100 million worth of assets, consisting of cash, properties, jewelleries, luxury items and alcohol from Su Baolin, his wife and his companies. After accounting for his liabilities in respect of these assets, around S$72 million worth of assets were eventually seized or prohibited. The State Court has ordered the forfeiture of around S$65 million (about 90 per cent) of the assets to the State.
Background of the case
Investigations revealed that between 2019 and 2023, Su Baolin was involved in both punting on online gambling websites, and the operation and/or supervision of unlawful remote gambling activities abroad. He received benefits from the illegal activities in the form of Tether, a cryptocurrency more commonly known as “USDT”. Investigations found that on 3 August 2023, Su Baolin had liquidated a sum of USDT and received at least S$463,243 in cash. This formed part of the cash of S$777,220.50 that was seized by the Police on 15 August 2023. Sometime in January 2023, Su Baolin had also used USDT to purchase a Toyota Alphard. Su Baolin was unable to account satisfactorily how he came by the cash found in his house and the monies used to purchase the Toyota Alphard.
Su Baolin also conspired with one Wang Junjie to submit false financial information relating to his company, Xinbao Investment Holdings Pte Ltd (“Xinbao”), to the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, despite being aware that the financial information submitted was false and unsupported by actual business activities. They did that so that Xinbao would appear progressively profitable, and to increase Su Baolin’s chances of obtaining a permanent residency status in Singapore at such time when an application was made with the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority.
In total, Su Baolin was charged with the following offences:
- One count of submitting a false document under Section 465 read with Section 471 of the Penal Code (Cap 224, 2008 Rev Ed);
- One count of conspiring with one Wang Qiming to submit a false document for the purpose of cheating a financial institution under Section 468 read with Section 109 of the Penal Code (Cap 224, 2008 Rev Ed);
- Two counts of conspiring with one Wang Junjie to make false representations under Section 424A(1) read with Section 109 of the Penal Code (Cap 224, 2008 Rev Ed) and one similar count under Section 424A(1) read with Section 109 of the Penal Code 1871;
- One count of making statements which he knew to be false in a statutory declaration under Section 14(1)(b) of the Oaths and Declarations Act (Cap 211, 2001 Rev Ed);
- Three counts of refusing to sign a statement when required by a public servant of him to do so under Section 180 of the Penal Code 1871;
- One count of making a false declaration in an application for a work pass under Section 22(1)(d) read with Section 20(1)(a) of the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act 1990); and
- One count of a money laundering offence under Section 47(1)(c) of the CDSA (Cap 65A, 2000 Rev Ed) and two counts of money laundering offences under Section 55 of the CDSA.
Any person who is convicted for an offence under Section 424A of the Penal Code 1871 may be punished with imprisonment for a term of up to 20 years, or with fine, or with both. Any person who is convicted for an offence under Section 55 of the CDSA may be punished with a fine of up to S$150,000 or with imprisonment for a term of up to 3 years, or with both.
The Police take a serious stance against any person who may be involved in money laundering and deception that compromises the integrity of Singapore’s financial system. We will continue to take tough enforcement actions against perpetrators, who will be dealt with in accordance with the law.
Related cases
Three 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; and Wang Baosen, a 32-year-old Chinese national, were convicted and sentenced for various offences earlier this month. Annex A sets out the sentencing outcomes of the four accused persons who have been convicted and sentenced so far in relation to this case.
Court proceedings for the remaining six accused persons related to the case are ongoing. Annex B sets out the offences which they have currently been charged with. Their assets, along with that of other persons linked to the case, will remain seized and prohibited until the State Courts have dealt with their cases.
Annex A – Sentencing outcomes of four accused persons
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SN |
Name |
Sentencing outcome |
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1 |
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2 |
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3 |
|
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| 4 | Su Baolin |
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Annex B – List of current charges against remaining six accused persons
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SN |
Name |
Details of offences |
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1 |
Cheng Qingyuan (10 charges) |
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2 |
Lin Baoying (3 charges) |
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|
3 |
Su Jianfeng (6 charges) |
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4 |
Wang Dehai (2 charges) |
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5 |
Vang Shuiming (22 charges) |
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6 |
Zhang Ruijin (3 charges) |
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SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
29 April 2024 @ 5:00 PM