Companies remove directors and shareholders linked to $2.8b money laundering probe

Companies that listed foreigners who were later linked to a $2.8 billion money laundering probe have removed the individuals from their list of directors and shareholders, a search of business records showed.

The firms are across sectors such as construction, IT and finance.

Cambodian national Su Baolin was removed as director and shareholder of air-conditioning company SG Gree on Sept 26. Cypriot national Su Haijin was removed as a shareholder of the same firm on Sept 28.

The two men were among 10 foreigners arrested on Aug 15 by the police in an islandwide anti-money laundering raid.

Su Baolin, 42, faces two charges – one for allegedly using a forged document to show he was the executive director of an import-export company, and a second where he is said to have conspired with a former Citibank employee to make a false document with the intention to cheat Standard Chartered Bank.

Su Haijin, 40, faces one charge for evading arrest, and another for possessing money from criminal offences.

The Straits Times on Nov 21 visited SG Gree, which shares the same premises as Jiaxing Holdings in an industrial building at 35 Tampines Street 92. Employees there said Su Haijin and Su Baolin had resigned from the firm.

Individuals linked to the nine men and one woman arrested in the probe have also been dropped from their director and shareholder roles.

Mr Su Zigen was removed from SG Gree on Sept 28, according to business records compiled by data tech company Handshakes.  

He was previously listed as a shareholder of the firm.

Mr Su Zigen was also the director of Cambodian company Su Zigen Chengmei, where Su Haijin, one of the accused in the money laundering probe, was listed as chairman.

On Aug 27, the Ministry of Law sent a list to dealers of precious metals and stones to flag suspicious transactions that may involve money laundering.

They flagged the 10 accused, and 24 other individuals said to be their associates.

The 24 names included the wives of several of the accused individuals.

Su Haijin’s wife Wu Qin, who was listed as a director of vending machine company Hirohisa Vending, had her name removed on Oct 21. Business records showed she remains a shareholder of the firm.

Meanwhile, Cambodian national Chen Qingyuan was on Oct 12 removed as a director of Pinkee – a company that sells toys through live streaming on social media.

Chen, 33, faces four charges relating to possessing cash, bank accounts, cars and cryptocurrency worth more than $8 million said to represent benefits from criminal conduct.

Employees at the firm, which is located in Ubi, said they had never seen Chen in the office, adding that he was not involved in daily operations.

King Shine Capital, where Wang Qiujiao is the sole director, remains a shareholder in Pinkee. Wang was among the 24 individuals MinLaw named in its suspicious transactions list.

King Shine Capital is registered as a holding company in Singapore.

Affidavits from the Commercial Affairs Department produced in court showed that Wang is Chen’s girlfriend.

Her registered address is a condominium unit at New Futura, near Grange Road. According to The Business Times, Chen bought a unit at the development in 2018 for $10.2 million.

Chen, who was also a director of HiCloud Technology, a cloud solution and service company located in Ubi, was terminated the day after his arrest.

An employee at the firm said the move was in response to Chen’s arrest and subsequent court charge related to money laundering.

Separately, Wang Liyun was removed as a shareholder of The Clover Bridal House and The Clover Photo on Oct 4.

She is married to Wang Bingang, who was revealed in court to be the cousin of Wang Dehai, one of the 10 accused.

In 2012, Wang Bingang set up a gambling site called Hongli International and targeted gamblers all over China, where online gambling is illegal.

He was arrested in February 2015 for his role in running the illegal site and was handed a three-year jail term.

ST had previously reported that Wang Liyun and Wang Bingang left Singapore abruptly amid the probe.

Wang Dehai faces two charges under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act.

He had allegedly used proceeds from an illegal online gambling service – which was based in the Philippines and targeted customers in China – to buy a unit in The Marq on Paterson Hill for $23 million in 2019.

He is accused in Singapore of possessing $2.3 million from illegal remote gambling offences.