Total value of assets seized in money laundering case now more than $2.8 billion

Singapore’s second minister for home affairs, Josephine Teo, revealed in Parliament on Oct 3 that the total value of assets seized in the country’s largest money laundering case now stands at more than $2.8 billion. The amount is almost three times greater than the initial estimates of $1 billion when the case first broke in mid-August.

Among these assets are 152 properties, 62 vehicles, cash of more than $76 million, and cryptocurrencies of more than $38 million, as well as thousands of bottles of liquor and wine, 68 gold bars, 294 luxury bags, 164 luxury watches, and 546 pieces of jewellery, with an estimated total value of more than $1.24 billion. In addition, the police have frozen more than $1.45 billion from various bank accounts.

In early 2022, the Singapore police launched an intelligence probe into the case, which had been identified by the country’s anti-money enforcement agents in 2021. To avoid alerting the suspects, the police kept their investigation to a small group of officers and held off on all overt investigative actions. Ten suspects have since been arrested and denied bail; investigations are ongoing.

In response to the case, a new inter-ministerial committee will be set up to review and strengthen Singapore’s anti-money laundering regime. Led by Second Minister for Finance and National Development Indranee Rajah, the committee will also include representatives of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Law, Ministry of Manpower, and Ministry of Trade and Industry.

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Their focus areas include preventing corporate structures from being abused by money launderers, improving financial institutions’ transaction monitoring capabilities, helping players in the system such as corporate service providers, real estate agents and precious stones and metals dealers to guard against money laundering risks, and boosting government capabilities to detect suspicious activities.