Convict in $3b money laundering case arrested in Montenegro

One of the 10 jailed in Singapore’s largest money laundering case was arrested in Montenegro when he flew there on a private plane, said local media.

Wang Shuiming, who was deported to Japan after finishing his jail term in Singapore, was arrested by border police at the Balkan nation’s Tivat Airport.

On Jan 28, Montenegrin daily newspaper Vijesti reported he had flown there on a private plane from the Maldives to Montenegro.

It did not say when he was arrested, but that police detained him after checking the passengers of the plane, through Interpol’s databases.

An international arrest warrant had been issued against Wang, reported Vijesti.

This is the first time Wang’s whereabouts have been mentioned after his deportation from Singapore.

Vijesti said Wang, who is originally from China and is also known as Vang Shuiming, had travel documents from the Republic of Vanuatu.

During his previous court hearings in Singapore, a High Court judge said Wang obtained passports from Turkey, Vanuatu and Cambodia by making donations to these countries.

Vijesti quoted the police directorate of Montenegro that there were criminal proceedings against Wang, but did not specify in which jurisdiction.

The police directorate accused Wang of organising illegal online betting platforms, which Chinese citizens participated in.

The authority added Wang will be brought before a judge in the Higher Court of Montenegro’s capital, Podgorica.

Wang was sentenced to 13 months and six weeks’ jail in Singapore on May 14, 2024.

He had pleaded guilty to two counts of money laundering and one count of submitting a forged document to a bank. Nineteen other charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.

Wang had submitted forged financial statements to banks in Singapore about the source of his money, and had a total of about $2.4 million held in four bank accounts, purportedly benefits from criminal conduct.

At first, he told Singapore police the source of his funds was his loan business in China.

He later said all the money came from gambling winnings and real estate investments in the Philippines.

After completing his sentence, he was deported to Japan on June 1, 2024.

Wang agreed to forfeit about $180 million of the more than $199 million worth of assets, cash, vehicles, properties and luxury items belonging to him and his wife which were seized by the police.

It was the highest amount forfeited by the 10 convicts in the case.

This included about $122 million in bank, portfolio and wealth accounts, 15 properties worth $29.6 million in total, and three luxury cars worth $3.38 million – a Rolls-Royce Phantom, a Toyota Alphard and a Bentley Flying Spur.

Other items included eight watches worth $17.4 million, from Patek Philippe, Richard Mille, Franck Muller and Chopard, and a Kawai crystal grand piano worth $240,000.

Wang was arrested at a good class bungalow at Bishopsgate, near Orchard Road, on Aug 15, 2023, when the police conducted islandwide raids.

The operation saw 10 individuals - all originally from China - nabbed and more than $3 billion in assets seized.

The nine men and one woman were sentenced to between 13 and 17 months’ jail, and all have been deported and barred from re-entering Singapore.

Another 17 people fled the country during investigations.

On Nov 18, 2024, Singapore police said 15 of the 17 have been dealt with, and they had agreed to surrender assets worth about $1.85 billion to the state. They have also been barred from returning to the Republic.

Investigations into the remaining two people on the run, Xu Haika and Xu Hainan, are ongoing. Their assets, worth about $144.9 million, remain seized or the subject of prohibition of disposal orders.

The orders mean the suspects cannot sell them.