He's on Interpol Red Notice, why Singapore did not arrest him? Seems Indonesia is fair, balanced and fearless.
Singapore says no China request made to arrest alleged money launderer
Published Sun, Dec 8, 2024 · 05:38 PM
Money laundering
The Indonesian report said Yan is a fugitive wanted by Interpol China for online gambling, and that he is suspected of being involved in a criminal gang that allegedly laundered money. PHOTO: EPA-EFE
Singapore police said they didn’t arrest a Chinese national accused of money laundering because they were not asked to do so by authorities in China, even though an Interpol Red Notice had been issued for him.
Yan Zhenxing, a Singapore permanent resident in his early 40s, was detained on Monday (Dec 2) by Indonesian authorities after he arrived at a ferry terminal in Batam, a popular resort island south of the city-state. He had travelled there from Singapore, according to Indonesia’s state news agency Antara.
The Indonesian report said Yan is a fugitive wanted by Interpol China for online gambling, and that he is suspected of being involved in a criminal gang that allegedly laundered money. Yan went to Batam for a holiday with his family, the Associated Press reported earlier. Indonesian authorities announced his arrest at a press conference on Thursday, and showed him handcuffed and flanked by immigration officers.
The development raised questions about how Yan had been living in Singapore while there was an Interpol Red Notice – which alerts police about internationally wanted fugitives – for him.
The Singapore Police Force said in response to Bloomberg News queries that it was aware of the Interpol Red Notice against Yan. Under Singapore laws, the notice “does not confer the Police with the powers to arrest a fugitive wanted by a foreign jurisdiction”, it said in a joint statement with the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority.
“The Police would only be able to do so pursuant to an extradition request that fulfills legal requirements. We had not received any request for assistance from the Chinese authorities,” they said.
There wasn’t an Interpol notice for Yan at the point when he was granted permanent residency in Singapore, the agencies added.
They also said Yan “is not currently under any investigation”, and that he wasn’t implicated or investigated in a recent record S$3 billion money laundering case that involved many China-born individuals who were residing in Singapore.
Ten now-convicted criminals in that scandal had used ill-gotten gains from online gambling to splurge on luxury homes, sports cars, golf-club memberships and other assets in the city-state, with many of their alleged accomplices leaving Singapore before they could be arrested. Police recently ended their pursuit of 15 people involved in the case, after they agreed to surrender S$1.85 billion worth of assets to authorities.
Singapore, which has become an international wealth hub, has gone through a spate of recent scandals involving dirty money. Earlier this year, an alleged Chinese superhacker sought by the US was arrested in Singapore, where he was living a lavish lifestyle.
Indonesian authorities said Yan was named as a suspect by police in northern China and said a decision to deport or extradite him will take some time. They also said the Interpol notice was issued in July 2024. The Antara report said the criminal gang he was allegedly involved with operated an online gambling platform that manipulated data to make a profit of as much as 130 million yuan (S$24 million).
Singapore business records reviewed by Bloomberg News show that Yan has owned a local company called Raising (S) since 2015. It is ostensibly an electronic component wholesaler and renovation contractor, and its registered address is a public housing flat located in a north-eastern Singapore neighbourhood, according to the filing.
Property records show Yan bought the flat in 2016 with another Chinese national. In Singapore, only local citizens or permanent residents can own HDB flats.
A LinkedIn profile matching Yan’s name and background described him as a sales director for Raising. It said he was formerly based in Guangdong province in China, and that he has “accumulated rich multinational management experience”, having spent at least six years in Singapore and one year in the Philippines. Yan could not be reached for comment. BLOOMBERG
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/in...a-request-made-arrest-alleged-money-launderer
