SG is money-laundering hub

[LITTLEREDDOT]

10 foreigners charged over role in crimes linked to about $1b in cash and assets​

The police seized cash and luxury items, and issued prohibition of disposal orders against ornaments and cars as part of an islandwide raid. PHOTOS: SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
Nadine Chua and Shaffiq Alkhatib

August 16, 2023

SINGAPORE -Ten foreign nationals from countries including China, Turkey and Cambodia were charged in court on Wednesday over their suspected involvement in offences including forgery, money laundering and resisting arrest.
These foreign nationals, aged between 31 and 44, were arrested on Tuesday morning following an islandwide raid by more than 400 officers.
They are believed to be connected to one another, and none is a Singaporean or permanent resident.
At 5pm on Wednesday, an application was made by Deputy Public Prosecutor David Koh for the 10 people to be charged that evening in a rare night court proceeding involving such offences.
The first to appear before District Judge Terence Tay was Su Haijin, 40, a Cypriot national, who was charged with one count of resisting arrest. He allegedly committed the offence at a house in Ewart Park near Holland Road.
The police said in a statement that during the arrest, officers identified themselves outside Su’s bedroom and ordered him to open the door.
Su allegedly jumped out of the second-floor balcony of a good class bungalow (GCB) and was found by the police hiding in a drain. He fractured his hands and legs due to the jump, and was taken conscious to hospital.

Su appeared in court via video-link from hospital as he is still receiving treatment.
After DPP Koh read details of Su’s charge in court, Su denied the sequence of events and claimed he did not know it was the police knocking at his door.
Speaking through a Mandarin interpreter, Su said he thought the knocks came from someone who was threatening to kill him.

The married man claimed he had an intimate encounter with a woman in Dubai, and that her boyfriend had threatened to kill him when he found out about the affair. Su said: “I thought it was that man who wanted to shoot me. I was not trying to run away from the police.”
After listening to Su explain his case for 10 minutes, the judge stopped him and told him this was not the proper forum to defend his charge.
Su also requested to be released on bail, but the prosecution said his remand was necessary to prevent collusion between the suspects involved in similar offences or the contamination of other evidence.

Foreign nationals, aged between 31 and 44, were arrested after an islandwide raid by more than 400 officers. PHOTO: SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
MORE ON THIS TOPIC
About $1b in cash, assets seized and frozen in one of S’pore’s biggest anti-money laundering operations
The judge granted the prosecution’s application for Su to be further remanded and to be moved to a secure ward in Changi General Hospital.
After Su’s arrest, the police said, they seized cash of more than $2.1 million, and issued prohibition of disposal orders for 13 properties and five vehicles with an estimated value of more than $118 million.
The authorities also froze four related bank accounts with a total balance of more than $6.7 million.
Zhang Ruijin, 44, and a woman he referred to as his lover, Lin Baoying, 43, both Chinese nationals, were each charged with one count of forgery.
They were arrested at a bungalow in Pearl Island at Sentosa Cove.
Zhang allegedly had a foreign passport believed to be issued by Saint Kitts and Nevis, an island country in the Caribbean.
Lin was allegedly found with foreign passports believed to be issued by the Dominican Republic and Turkey. Referring to Lin, Zhang said: “You can separate her crimes from me, we are just lovers... You can bail me out, but remand her.”
The police said officers seized cash of more than $7.6 million, and issued prohibition of disposal orders for nine properties and five vehicles with an estimated value of over $106 million.
Cambodian national Chen Qingyuan, 33, was charged with money laundering after his arrest at his condominium in Leonie Hill Road in the River Valley area.
He was also allegedly found in possession of other foreign passports believed to be issued by China and the Dominican Republic.
The police seized items including close to $600,000 in cash and other foreign currencies, 23 pieces of jewellery, and six luxury watches.

Jewellery and luxury watches were among the items seized by police, as well as close to $600,000 in cash and other foreign currencies. PHOTO: SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
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After the DPP made an application for him to be further remanded for investigations, Chen said: “After being remanded for 48 hours, I have the right to ask for bail. The authorities can still conduct their investigations then.”
Chen repeated this a few times, but the judge granted the DPP’s application for him to be remanded.
Su Baolin, 41, a Cambodian national, was charged with using a forged document.
He was arrested at a GCB in Nassim Road. He was allegedly found in possession of a foreign passport believed to be issued by China.
Items including cash of more than $777,000, 33 luxury bags and watches, and 75 pieces of jewellery were seized.
The police froze three related bank accounts with a total balance of more than $2.4 million.

Cash and assets worth about $1 billion were seized by police. PHOTO: SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
A 31-year-old Cambodian national, Su Wenqiang, was charged with one count of money laundering on Wednesday, after his arrest at a GCB in Lewis Road in Bukit Timah.
He allegedly had a foreign passport believed to be issued by China. The police seized items including cash of more than $600,000 and 11 pieces of jewellery.
The police froze eight related bank accounts with a total balance of more than $10 million.
Wang Dehai, a 34-year-old male Cypriot national, was charged with one count of money laundering. He was arrested at his condominium in Paterson Hill near Orchard Road.
He allegedly had other foreign passports believed to be issued by China and Cambodia. Police seized items including cash of more than $2.2 million, 35 luxury watches and bags, and 51 pieces of jewellery.
Ni-Vanuatu national Su Jianfeng, 35, was handed a money-laundering charge. He was arrested in a GCB in Third Avenue in Bukit Timah.
He allegedly had a foreign passport believed to be issued by China. Officers seized items including more than $1.4 million in cash, 95 pieces of jewellery, and 69 luxury bags and watches.

The assets seized by police included properties and luxury cars. PHOTO: SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
Turkish national Vang Shuiming, 42, was charged with one count of using a forged document.
He was arrested in a GCB in Bishopsgate near Orchard Road and was allegedly found in possession of foreign passports believed to be issued by China and Vanuatu.
The police seized close to $720,000 in cash, 36 luxury watches and bags.
Wang Baosen, a 31-year-old Chinese national, was charged with money laundering after he was arrested at a condominium in Tomlinson Road in the Orchard area. The police seized cash of close to $112,000,
The cases involving all 10 people have been adjourned to next week.
The offence of money laundering for individuals is punishable with jail for up to 10 years, or a fine of up to $500,000, or both.
Those who commit forgery for the purpose of cheating may be jailed for up to 10 years and fined.
The offence of using a forged document is punishable with imprisonment of up to four years, or fine, or both.
Those who resist lawful apprehension may be jailed for up to a year, fined, or both.

 

[nightsafari]

Cambodian nationals Su Baolin, Chen Qingyuan
Turkish national Vang Shuiming...

Very Cambodian and Turkish names.

 

[k1976]

https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/C...el-regulated-stablecoins-in-transparency-push

Stablecoin coming to resolve all problem?

Fully blockchained with enhance security feature 24hr monitoring De woh.... 10000% no chicken run

 

[k1976]

All bad eggs seem to come here, why hah?
Good hands is now solving this problem

 

[k1976]

https://www.google.com.sg/amp/s/www...gree-stablecoin-crypto-regulation.html?espv=1

Stablecoin for u, boss?

 

[blackmondy]

This AMDK says it best.

 

[blackmondy]

All bad eggs seem to come here, why hah?
Good hands is now solving this problem

A dirty gahmen embracing dirty money from abroad makes perfect sense to me.

 

[LittleP]

Houses were barred from disposable means BANNed from selling.
I thought FTs cannot buy GCB or freehold landed in sinkie unless approval given by SLA?
If so, means approval was granted & most interestingly, how & with what did they qualify with????

 

[k1976]

Houses were barred from disposable means BANNed from selling.
I thought FTs cannot buy GCB or freehold landed in sinkie unless approval given by SLA?
If so, means approval was granted & most interestingly, how & with what did they qualify with????

System of systems

 

[sbfuncle]

Houses were barred from disposable means BANNed from selling.
I thought FTs cannot buy GCB or freehold landed in sinkie unless approval given by SLA?
If so, means approval was granted & most interestingly, how & with what did they qualify with????

I think that's where the forged document came into the picture.
That day when I brought sgd100k cash with me to a bank, the officer also asked me for proof of where my money came from.
Nowadays not easy to launder money if you are not connected to anyone on top.
If my 100k was dirty money, the only way i can get it deposited is either to forged a document or go 1 round mbs and get a official receipt from mbs which actually not difficult too. I need not have to gamble just change money to chips then change back to cash from another counter .But that's only 100k lah. If is in millions then how to launder ?

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Singapore’s Crackdown: ‘Tip of the Iceberg’​

Billions of hot money sloshing through banking system​

Aug 18, 2023

The monumental crackdown on money laundering that began in Singapore on August 15, possibly triggered by the Chinese government in its Operation Fox Hunt campaign to reel in stolen money estimated so far at S$1 billion, is only a tiny fraction of the billions, perhaps trillions, of dollars hidden in the island republic's banks.

How far the scandal will go, and what effect it may have on the People’s Action Party which has dominated the government since 1959 is uncertain given the splintered and demoralized opposition, which has long been weakened by contempt and defamation suits brought in Singapore’s courts. Certainly, so far transparency plainly hasn’t applied to the banking system in Transparency International’s rankings, which placed Singapore fifth in the world for 2022. It appears to have required the Chinese, whose foreign minister Wang Yi visited earlier this month, to push Singaporean authorities into action.

But the presence of so much money sloshing through the banking system cannot have gone unnoticed. Whether this leads to reform, or whether authorities limit the damage to the Chinese suspects and leave the rest as business as usual, is another question. Singapore's banking and financial system have come under simultaneous attack and pressure from both the US and China in this regard. On August 9, UOB, a Singaporean MNC, announced it would cut ties with banks in Myanmar used as conduits for the Burmese junta to access the global financial system and evade western sanctions.

This development came shortly after a UN report named Singapore as a key hub for arms deals conducted by the Burmese junta, as well as a series of visits to Singapore in recent months by high-level US representatives including State Department Counselor Derek Chollet and senior sanctions coordination officials, who met with the Monetary Authority of Singapore and key Singaporean banks in April. On a visit in October 2021, Chollet tweeted about discussing with the MAS "ways to limit the Burmese military regime's access to overseas financial assets."

On March 17, 2009 – more than a decade ago – this reporter was present when the Burmese junta leader Thein Sein, the head of what was then one of the world’s most repressive and poverty-stricken countries, flew into Singapore for a ceremony in which an orchid was named for him in the island republic’s magnificent botanical gardens. Another was named for Thein Sein’s wife. The common wisdom in Singapore is that the orchid honor was bestowed because of the amount of money Myanmar’s generals had laundered out of their benighted country and deposited in Singapore’s banks.

Now Singapore’s largest money laundering bust rivals the 1MDB scandal, with the arrested targets all of Chinese origins and coming hot on the heels of Wang Yi's visit. This Chinese money laundering bust has shown that the country's financial institutions and professional services have not learned their lesson from the 1MDB saga. Once might be an accident. Twice cannot be down to mere ignorance or incompetence.

While the Singapore Police Force arrested 10 Chinese individuals on August 15 for their suspected involvement in this case, they are believed to represent only the tip of the iceberg for the true scale of the current money laundering operation. According to multiple reports by a Singapore Chinese-language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao on August 18, hundreds more Chinese mainlanders in a syndicate nicknamed the “Fujian Gang” may be involved, with another 60 local property agents also implicated and assisting with the investigations, a legal euphemism for being questioned.

On August 18, SPF announced that an additional 11 properties in Singapore had been frozen, bringing the total number of properties to 105. A day earlier, Bloomberg reported that Citi, a US bank, and CIMB, a Malaysian one, are among the financial institutions suspected of being used to launder money in this case.

“If the PAP regime is only able to discover money laundering and other criminal activity in our banks after outside and foreign pressure what does that say about us?” asked Kenneth Jeyaratnam, the secretary-general of the opposition Reform Party, on his Facebook page. “If we provide a warm welcome to very dirty businesses…then we can’t expect to escape without a stain on our ‘squeaky clean’ reputation. Meanwhile, the money laundering activity pushes up asset prices and makes property unaffordable for Singaporeans and of course car ownership as well.”

In an indication of just how much money is hidden in Singapore, in March 2019, Indonesia’s Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati asked the country’s Directorate General of Taxation to go after Indonesian wealth parked overseas, saying data indicate Indonesians had illegally moved Rp1.3 quadrillion (US$91.3 billion at then-prevailing rates) worth of assets outside of the country.

Most of it was in Singapore, as Asia Sentinel pointed out in an article titled “Indonesia’s Money Laundromat,” where 39,000 Indonesians were then said to be living. According to a 2014 Cornell University Southeast Asia Program study, total Indonesian money in Singapore at a minimum was US$93 billion. According to one study, however, as much as an astonishing US$380 billion had been spirited out of Indonesia alone – 40 percent of Singapore’s total banking receipts.

Among the other dictators, crooks, strongmen, and satraps who are believed to have deposits – or have had, according to other studies – in the Singaporean banking system are Zimbabwe’s former President Robert Mugabe, the late Philippine strongman Ferdinand Marcos, the jailed Taiwanese President Chen Shui Bian, the disgraced former French Budget Minister Jérôme Cahuzac, former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and many more.

For decades, Indonesia has been in a half-hearted war to repatriate its money, at one point in 2007 blocking the delivery of Indonesian sand used to expand Singapore’s coastline in an effort to force the island nation to agree to an extradition treaty to get back bankers who stole US$13.5 billion from 48 ailing banks during the 1997-1998 Asian Financial Crisis and moved the money into Singaporean banks. They have never succeeded.

In the 2008 global financial meltdown, Indonesia’s Bank Century failed, with US$1.5 billion believed to have been allegedly stolen by the bank’s president, Robert Tantular, according to legal documents filed in Singapore and Mauritius. The Indonesian Bank Deposit Insurance Corporation, which is designed to provide an insurance cover for failing banks, allegedly poured in another US$750 million.

With global watchdogs increasingly cracking down on Switzerland, Singapore has become known as the go-to bolt hole for money flowing in from Cyprus, Russia, Dubai, and Qatar, according to investigators in London and the United States. It is an emerging destination for private wealth management – a code word for hidden money. Its banks are known as among the safest in the world. It has never had a bank failure, although it shut down two Swiss subsidiaries during the mess created by Malaysia’s huge 1Malaysia Development Bank scandal.

As authorities have put pressure on Swiss authorities to open the doors to the alpine nation’s bank records, Singapore has developed its banking secrecy laws to protect money flows, blocking regulations developed by the 36-country Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on publication of bank customer information. According to a 2017 Boston Consulting Group report, these tight banking secrecy laws had attracted as much as US$1.1 trillion in foreign funds into the banking system.

The access to Singapore-based institutions by less-than-respectable money seems to have reached its apex with the long-running 1MDB scandal, during which now-deposed Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and his confederate, Low Taek Jho, spirited billions of dollars through the Singaporean system. Najib famously moved US$681 million sent to him by Jho Low through the Kuala Lumpur-based Ambank in 2013, using part of the money to finance the successful 2013 election won by the Barisan Nasional, and then moved the remainder back out to subsidiaries of Swiss banks, both of which were suspended from doing business in Singapore.

Both China and the US have their own motivations for pressuring Singapore to clean up its financial act and move against entities designated by both countries for targeting. The global mood is rapidly turning against offshore tax havens and banking secrecy being used as a cloak for illicit financial hoarding of plundered/criminal funds in the post-Covid era of rising financial inequality, and the resultant increase in social unrest and political discord.

Singapore is already going to lose a major chunk of its international financial competitiveness once the US fully introduces the Global Minimum Corporate Tax Rate (GMCT), something heavily pushed by the Biden administration to achieve broadly similar aims as China: to curb MNCs from profit shifting for tax avoidance/evasion purposes. Now Singapore has shown that it is no longer as immune as it used to be to external pressure on its banking and financial institutions to do law enforcement on illicit funds sheltering within the country, or participate in sanctions against pariah states on the international stage by cutting off their avenues of tax evasion through the country.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

India seizes assets of late mining tycoon’s estate after probe prompted by Panama, Pandora Papers leaks​

Two series of millions of leaked confidential documents revealed massive hidden networks of tax havens involving corrupt or unethical dealings by the wealthy. REUTERS

Nirmala Ganapathy
India Bureau Chief

AUG 13, 2023

NEW DELHI – The Indian authorities have seized the entire shareholding of late mining tycoon Anil Vassudeva Salgaocar’s estate, after opening an investigation against him on the basis of information disclosed in the Panama and Pandora Papers.
The move comes months after his widow Lakshmi Anil Salgaocar, who is the estate’s administrator, won a protracted case in Singapore’s High Court that involved assets implicated in the Indian investigation.
The Panama and Pandora Papers refer to two series of millions of leaked confidential documents, published from April 2016, that revealed massive hidden networks of tax havens involving corrupt or unethical dealings by the wealthy and elite across the globe.
Mr Salgaocar, a well-known industrialist who died in Singapore in 2016, is suspected of violating foreign exchange laws and not declaring millions of dollars of profits to the authorities, according to India’s Enforcement Directorate which tracks economic crimes.
He was also a member of the 2007 legislative assembly of Goa state.
The directorate, in a statement dated Aug 9, said that as part of investigations, it seized all the shares owned by his estate.
The assets seized comprise shares in 33 companies, with the estate’s ownership ranging from 0.1 per cent to 99.9 per cent. The 33 firms own 441 properties in the states of Goa and Karnataka, as well as in Mumbai.

The directorate said investigations showed that iron ore from mines owned by the tycoon in the states of Goa and Karnataka was exported to China through subsidiary firms set up in the British Virgin Islands and Singapore. All firms were set up between 2003 and 2012.
Profits amounting to US$690 million (S$932 million) earned by five of those firms in the British Virgin Islands between 2004 and 2012 were not declared to the Indian authorities, according to the investigations.
The firms “were not declared before Indian authorities and they acted as trading companies indulging in sale of iron ore produced in India to China which resulted in profit shifting outside India”, the directorate added.

By acquiring foreign exchange and holding assets outside India, Mr Salgaocar violated the country’s Foreign Exchange Management Act (Fema), it said.
Under India’s laws, Indian nationals cannot freely acquire foreign exchange nor hold assets outside the country, among other things. Penalties include recovering three times the sum of money involved in the violations.
The directorate added that its investigations against Mr Salgaocar and his estate were initiated on the basis of the Panama and Pandora Papers leaks. The Indian Express newspaper, whose journalists are part of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists that investigated the Pandora Papers, alleged in a 2021 article that six of his companies had been incorporated with the help of Panamanian offshore law firm and corporate service provider Mossack Fonseca, and were managed by Panama-based corporate services provider OMC Group.
Sources from the directorate told The Straits Times that members of the Salgaocar family were cooperating with investigations.

Under Fema, the family would have recourse to challenge the asset seizure, the sources said.
The authorities’ move against the estate comes six months after the family won a long-running legal dispute in Singapore that involved assets implicated in the current investigation.
Mr Salgaocar in 2015 sued his business friend, Mr Jhaveri Darsan Jitendra, in Singapore, accusing the man of misappropriating assets from a trust that the tycoon set up in 2003.
The firms in the British Virgin Islands that were used to trade iron ore and subsequently implicated in the Indian authorities’ investigations were set up through this trust.
Mr Darsan argued that no such trust was ever set up and that he funded the firms himself.
The High Court in February 2023 ruled against Mr Darsan, ordering him to transfer the trust assets, including the companies’ shares, to Mr Salgaocar’s estate.
Asked about the authorities’ seizure of the Salgaocar estate’s assets, the family’s advocate and solicitor Niru Pillai referred ST to the Singapore High Court order.
Mr Pillai noted that the family won the case on all counts. He said he could not give more information on the matter, as Mr Darsan had indicated his intention to appeal against the ruling.
The lawyer declined to say whether Mr Salgaocar’s family – his widow, two daughters Chandana and Purnima, as well as two sons Sameer and Arjun – are currently based in Singapore.

 

[SinkieExile]

Great consolidation thread.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Man arrested in billion-dollar anti-money laundering raid was director of No Signboard Holdings​

1 of 7

A man (in white shirt and shorts) being apprehended at 16 Ewart Park on Aug 15. PHOTO: ST READER

Nadine Chua

AUG 19, 2023

SINGAPORE - The man who allegedly jumped from a bungalow to evade arrest in an anti-money laundering blitz linked to $1 billion in cash and assets was a director of No Signboard Holdings.
Su Haijin, 40, a Cypriot national, was a director of the restaurant operator from October 2021 to June 2022, a search with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (Acra) revealed.
The company’s 2021 annual report, filed last October, lists Su as holding a 20 per cent stake in the company.
The report said he resigned voluntarily as a non-executive director to focus on other commitments.
A spokesman for No Signboard Holdings told The Straits Times on Thursday that Su was a non-executive director at the company.

A photo of Su Haijin, as shared on social media. Su was arrested on Aug 15.
She said he was not involved in the company’s business and operations, and did not participate in any of the board’s meetings or decision-making processes.
She added that there were five other directors at the company during that time.

Su was one of 10 foreign nationals originally from Fujian, China, who were charged in court on Wednesday over their suspected involvement in offences including forgery, money laundering and resisting arrest.
The foreigners, aged between 31 and 44, were arrested on Tuesday following an islandwide raid by more than 400 officers from the Criminal Investigation Department, Commercial Affairs Department, Special Operations Command and Police Intelligence Department.

The suspects are believed to be connected to one another. None of them is a Singaporean or permanent resident.

Of the 10, three are Chinese nationals. As for the remaining seven, three are Cambodian, two are Cypriot, one is Turkish, and one is a Vanuatu national.

Cash, luxury bags and watches were seized by the police during the blitz. PHOTOS: SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE

Multiple bottles of liquor and wine were placed under prohibition of disposal orders. PHOTO: SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
The Acra search on Su showed that he had the most number of appointments out of the 10 people arrested in the operation.
Su was a shareholder and director of Aiqinhai Investment, a private company limited by shares, and held the same roles at mobile phone dealer Daily Glory International.
On Wednesday, he was charged with one count of resisting arrest at his good class bungalow in Ewart Park near Holland Road.

A picture of luxury cars parked at Su Haijin’s residence that was provided to ST.
The police said that on Tuesday, officers identified themselves outside Su’s bedroom and ordered him to open the door.
Instead, he allegedly jumped out of the second-floor balcony and fractured his hands and legs. He was found hiding in a drain by the police.
When details of his charge were read out in court, Su claimed he thought the knocks had come from someone who wanted to kill him.
He said in Mandarin that he had an intimate encounter with a woman in Dubai, and her boyfriend had threatened to kill him because of it.

Cash seized by the police as part of the anti-money laundering blitz on Aug 15. PHOTO: SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
In August 2021, The Business Times reported that a Cypriot citizen by the name of Su Haijin had bought a pair of adjacent bungalows in Sentosa Cove for a total of $36.37 million.
His case will be heard again next week.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

All 10 charged in billion-dollar money laundering case held S’pore employment or dependant’s passes​

The Ministry of Manpower said it will take the necessary action against the foreign nationals, in consultation with the police. PHOTO: ST FILE

Tay Hong Yi

AUG 18, 2023

SINGAPORE - All 10 of the foreign nationals charged on Aug 16 over their suspected involvement in offences including forgery, money laundering and resisting arrest held either an Employment Pass (EP) or a Dependant’s Pass (DP).
Responding to queries from The Straits Times, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said it is in contact with the police on investigations into the foreign nationals.
“These individuals held EPs and DPs. We will take the necessary action against them if serious offences are disclosed, in consultation with the police and the Attorney-General’s Chambers.”
The foreign nationals, aged between 31 and 44, were arrested on Tuesday morning, following an islandwide anti-money laundering raid by more than 400 officers that saw about $1 billion in assets seized or frozen.
They are believed to be connected to one another, and no one is a Singaporean or permanent resident.
Of the 10, three are Chinese nationals. As for the remaining seven, three are Cambodian, two are Cypriot, one is Turkish, and one is a Vanuatu national.
Another 12 people are assisting with investigations, while eight are wanted by the police.

The ministry said all employers and work pass applicants must declare that all the information contained in their applications is true and correct.
“This includes company details and applicants’ personal particulars, as well as work experience, salary and qualifications. MOM will assess all applications and look into any suspicious information.”
It added that it will not hesitate to prosecute errant individuals for false declaration offences under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act.

Those found guilty face a fine of up to $20,000, up to two years’ imprisonment, or both, per charge.
“Employers found to have contravened the law will also have their work pass privileges suspended.”

Employment and immigration experts ST spoke to said that EP applications by Singapore-registered firms have generally been efficiently processed within 10 business days, with applications that need more time given an update within the timeframe.
Previously, most online applications were processed within three weeks.
Applications by an overseas company without a Singapore-registered company get processed within eight weeks in most cases.
An employer or employment agent submits an EP application on the candidate’s behalf.
The candidate, who does not need to be in Singapore when the application is made, will need to provide written consent of the application, according to the MOM website.
The employer or agent then submits an application form, which can be filled up by the candidate.
The form requires details of the candidate’s personal particulars, travel documents, work experience and educational qualifications, among others.
New applicants will need to meet a minimum qualifying salary of at least $5,000 per month for all sectors except financial services, which has a minimum of $5,500. All renewals from Sept 1 will be subject to these minimums, which increase progressively with age, too.

Also taking effect from Sept 1 is a points-based Complementarity Assessment framework, under which an EP application is scored based on both a candidate’s and his employer’s attributes.
In tandem, a requirement will come into force for verification proof of the candidate’s educational qualifications to be submitted for any application that wishes to gain points on the basis of these qualifications.
The personal particulars page of the candidate’s passport, and the company’s latest business profile or instant information registered with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority will need to be uploaded as supporting documentation.
The application fee is $105. If the pass is approved, the candidate will receive an in-principle approval letter, which is a pre-approved single-entry visa for the candidate to enter Singapore within six months.
Candidates must be in Singapore when the pass is issued, though others may be authorised to collect their physical EP card on their behalf later.
EP holders earning a minimum fixed monthly salary of $6,000, and who are sponsored by an established, Singapore-registered company, may also get DPs for their legally married spouse and unmarried children aged under 21, including legally adopted children.
If an EP application is still pending after 10 business days, it may be because additional documents or information are required for submission to MOM.
Examples of additional documentation MOM may ask for include a company’s bank statements, invoices or business contracts, said Ms Jacqueline Low, managing director of JBL Corporate Services, which advises on work pass applications.

Other types of information that she has seen requested include the company’s financial statements, a copy of the company’s office tenancy agreement, a list of current employees, as well as details of the candidate’s job responsibilities, related experience and credentials, and a salary comparison to similar job roles either within the company or in Singapore.
“Employees are often asked to provide evidence supporting their stated credentials and records, while business owners commonly face inquiries about their business investments,” said Dr David Leong of PeopleWorldwide Consulting.
Both Dr Leong and Ms Low noted that reasons for unsuccessful applications are not disclosed.
The longest EP approval Ms Low has seen is around 1½ months for a few candidates, before the streamlining of the application system in 2022, while Dr Leong said a three-month wait is not unheard of in rare cases.
“Applications undergo stringent algorithmic evaluations, and delays are uncommon unless inconsistencies arise. Results are typically released within the designated timeframe,” said Dr Leong.
He said applicants with questionable backgrounds face heightened scrutiny, especially when undisclosed information emerges during background checks.
“Undeclared records often pertain to offences committed in foreign jurisdictions, false declarations, or inappropriate document submissions,” Dr Leong added.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Billion-dollar money laundering case: 11 more properties in S’pore linked to suspects​

The 105 properties, estimated to be worth $831 million, include seven detached bungalows at Sentosa Cove. PHOTO: ST FILE

Nadine Chua

AUG 18, 2023

SINGAPORE - Eleven more properties were issued with prohibition of disposal orders in the billion-dollar anti-money laundering case involving foreigners from Fujian, said the police on Friday.
This takes the total number of properties issued with prohibition of disposal orders in the case to 105, after 94 properties were earlier issued with the orders.
The orders mean the suspects cannot sell the properties.
The 105 properties, estimated to be worth $831 million, include seven detached bungalows at Sentosa Cove and 79 condominium units, 19 of which are under construction.
Another 19 commercial or industrial spaces were issued with the prohibition of disposal orders.
The police said the properties are owned by the individuals under investigation.
They include the 10 who have been charged, other individuals wanted by the police, their spouses, or companies linked to these people.

The good class bungalows (GCBs) where the foreigners from Fujian were arrested are not owned by them, said the police.
The GCBs are not part of the 105 properties issued with prohibition of disposal orders.
The police said they have neither seized nor issued prohibition of disposal orders against any GCBs in relation to the case.
The police conducted a massive islandwide blitz on Tuesday, hitting several GCBs and high-end condos simultaneously to nab several suspects involved in possible illicit activities. The properties raided included ones in Tanglin, Bukit Timah, Orchard Road, Sentosa and River Valley.
Ten people, including a woman, were charged on Wednesday night.
Ranging in age from 31 to 44, they are suspected to be involved in offences of forgery, money laundering or resisting arrest.
The accused hold multiple passports, but are originally from Fujian, China.

Five of the people arrested include (clockwise, from top left) Su Haijin, Su Baolin, Wang Dehai, Su Jianfeng and Su Wenqiang. PHOTOS: WHATSAPP, INTERNET, CHINA POLICE WEBSITE
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Who are the 10 charged after the billion-dollar anti-money laundering raid in S'pore?
All 10 charged in billion-dollar money laundering case held S’pore employment or dependant’s passes
Another 12 are assisting in investigations, while eight more people are currently on the run and have been placed on a wanted list.
The police said on Wednesday that the blitz involved more than 400 officers, including those from the Criminal Investigation Department, Commercial Affairs Department, Special Operations Command and Police Intelligence Department.
The group of foreign nationals are allegedly involved in laundering the proceeds of their organised crime activities overseas, and are also linked to scams and online gambling. The police had identified them through extensive investigations, including the analysis of suspicious transaction reports made by financial institutions.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

‘Golden passport’: A Plan B for the rich, a rear exit and safe haven for crooks​

With its low barrier for entry, Turkey has become a "hot" destination for those seeking a second citizenship. PHOTO: AFP

Raul Dancel
Correspondent

AUG 18, 2023

SINGAPORE - It is called a “golden passport”, and it is legal to have one.
Former Google chief executive Eric Schmidt, Snapchat founder Evan Spiegel and libertarian venture capitalist Peter Thiel have one.
But the perks and privileges that go with it – and the ease of getting one – have given many bad actors a convenient way to hide their loot, launder dirty money or skip jail time.
Jho Low, the Malaysian financier who is now one of the world’s most wanted fugitives, has several, according to reports.
Low was issued an investment-based citizenship passport from Saint Kitts and Nevis, a tiny Caribbean island nation, in 2011. His citizenship there was revoked in 2018 following full-scale international investigations into the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal.
He is believed to hold a Maltese passport as well, and in 2015, obtained a Cypriot passport.
Several of the suspects in a massive money-laundering scam uncovered in Singapore this week hold multiple passports, investigations showed.

Though the nine men and one woman, aged between 31 and 44, arrested on Tuesday are originally from Fujian province in China, they hold multiple passports issued by Vanuatu, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Cyprus, Turkey and Cambodia.
A golden passport is one granted by a country in exchange for a big investment or a donation.
Each year, about 50,000 people get a second citizenship via this route, according to Dr Kristin Surak, an assistant professor at the London School of Economics and author of the book The Golden Passport: Global Mobility For Millionaires.

The number excludes those getting long-term residency instead of citizenship.
Investment Migration Insider, a migration-focused magazine, values the golden passport industry at roughly US$21.4 billion (S$29 billion).
By 2025, it will generate US$100 billion in revenues for nations benefiting from it.
According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), over 100 countries offer some variation of citizenship-for-investment/donation programmes.
Most have robust mechanisms in place to prevent abuse.

Canada, for instance, grants citizenship in exchange for C$1.2 million (S$1.2 million) worth of investment or a C$350,000 donation. But those applying for one will have to wait five years before they can get their passport, during which time they have to be a resident of Canada.
Germany has a lower investment threshold – €350,000 (S$516,000) – but the waiting period for a passport is longer: eight years.
Those seeking an American passport, meanwhile, will have to place no less than US$900,000 (S$1.2 million) in a US company, and must be a US resident for at least five years.

Crowd favourites​

But the OECD has flagged at least 14 nations that it says have citizenship and residency schemes that “potentially pose a high-risk to the integrity” of a global treaty that seeks to crack down on tax evasion, as well as money laundering.
Most are Caribbean island states: Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Lucia.
Vanuatu in the South Pacific, the British overseas territories of the Turks and Caico, and the Seychelles in East Africa are also in the list.
There are also larger nations that were flagged: the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Cyprus and Malta.
These countries are on the OECD list because of how quick and easy it is to secure citizenship or long-term residency from them.
It takes only three to four months and a donation of as little as US$100,000 to get a passport in Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, and Saint Lucia.
That has made these nations crowd favourites among those fleeing prosecution or persecution in their native countries, or seeking a safe place to park gains from criminal enterprises that they can access when things head south for them.


A passport issued by Cyprus, a member of the European Union, used to be a coveted one because it grants its holder the right to live and work in all 27 EU states and visa-free access to over 170 countries.
But a damning Al Jazeera report in 2020 forced Cyprus to shutter its investment-for-citizenship programme after it was revealed that, out of over 2,500 people who got a Cypriot passport from 2017 to 2019, dozens faced criminal charges in another country, had a prior conviction or were under international sanctions.
Among them was Low, who is now on the “most wanted” lists of three countries.
Others in this rogues’ gallery are Mykola Zlochevsky, a Ukrainian energy tycoon and former minister wanted by Kyiv for corruption; and Russian banking brothers Dmitry and Alexei Ananiev, who are accused in Russia of embezzlement and money laundering, and are also under sanctions from Ukraine.
It is not just Cyprus.
Mehul Choksi, an Indian diamond merchant sought by Interpol, acquired citizenship in Antigua and Barbuda in 2017 shortly before he was charged with bank fraud.
Thailand’s former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup and convicted in absentia of graft, now has a passport from Montenegro.

Bottling lightning​

Interpol, anti-money laundering regulators and governments have been pressing for tighter reins or an outright ban on the issuance of golden passports.
They have had some success.
Bulgaria has ended its investor citizenship scheme, while Ireland and Portugal have announced that they are scrapping their own popular golden visa programmes.
Canada has revoked visa-free travel for Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Antigua and Barbuda. In July, Britain struck Vanuatu off its visa-free list.
But it is like catching lightning in a bottle.
The small Caribbean nations on the OECD’s watchlist, for instance, rely on citizenship-for-investment programmes to prop up their economies.
Saint Kitts and Nevis derives 40 per cent of its gross domestic product from these programmes, Dr Surak of the London School of Economics said in her book.
Cracking down on golden passports may also feel like playing a game of whack-a-mole. Cyprus may be closed for business, for instance, but there are others filling the gap.
Malta, another EU member state, has taken Cyprus’ place in the pecking order of best places to get a second citizenship, despite its steeper price of entry: at least €1.2 million.
The European Commission has brought a case against Malta before the EU’s Court of Justice, but even if that case moves forward, other nations such as Slovenia, Slovakia, Hungary and Austria are just waiting in the wings.
Mr Michael Kosnitzky, a lawyer at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman who has helped many of his high-net-worth clients obtain second, and even third, citizenships, told the online news site Vox that “Turkey is hot right now”.
With an investment requirement of just US$400,000, no minimum stay and a waiting time of three to six months, many of Russia’s wealthiest have been scooping up Turkish passports, which grants visa-free travel to 110 destinations, as a hedge just in case the domestic situation in Russia falls apart.
“There is really little incentive for nations to drop their CBI (citizenship-by-investment) programmes and a very low bar to hurdle for those taking advantage of these programmes,” said Ms Teresa Villareal, a lawyer who handles immigration cases in the Philippines.
She said unless powerful blocs like the EU can come up with a wholesale ban, “any hard-charging action will plug one hole only to open up two more holes”.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Properties popular with criminals looking to ‘wash’ dirty money​

Many are drawn to Singapore properties due to the country's stable economy. ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG

Angela Tan
Senior Correspondent

AUG 19, 2023, 8:01 AM SGT

SINGAPORE – Despite Singapore’s strict regulations to prevent money laundering through real estate, property transactions remain attractive for criminals looking to wash dirty money, said lawyers and property consultants.
Many are drawn to Singapore properties due to the stable economy. Rising prices also make real estate an attractive and safe avenue. In addition, large sums of money are involved in a single transaction.
Ms Gazalle Mok, a partner at Rajah & Tann Singapore’s corporate real estate practice, told The Straits Times that money laundering is a process of masking illegitimate funds so that they appear to originate from legitimate sources.
“The use of sophisticated means to place illegitimate funds into the economy and creating layers of transactions using different bank accounts and passports make it even more difficult to detect such criminal conduct,” she said.
Ms Mok added that the effectiveness of due diligence checks is also largely dependent on the accuracy of declarations by buyers and the verification documents provided. “It is very difficult for lay persons to detect whether these are fake or forged.”
Mr Dennis Miralis, an Australian lawyer at Nyman Gibson Miralis who is familiar with cross-border crimes, said real estate is “a very prevalent form of money laundering across the globe”.
Apart from real estate, illicit funds are often used to buy luxury assets and invest in businesses. They can also be used in gaming machines and to buy casino chips, which are later encashed.

Professionals such as lawyers, accountants and real estate agents may “knowingly or unknowingly” help criminals to launder money through real estate by setting up and maintaining domestic or offshore trusts and companies.
They could also facilitate transactions on behalf of the criminal by receiving and transferring large amounts of cash, setting up complex loans and other credit arrangements, and facilitating the transfer of properties to third parties.
“All you need is someone who knows the law and accounting to help set up a web of companies to own 105 properties, and ideally link the proceeds back to an offshore account or tax haven,” said a property consultant who did not want to be identified.

He was referring to the case in which 10 foreign nationals, aged between 31 and 44, were charged this week for alleged money-laundering and forgery offences, with police seizing about $1 billion worth of assets, including luxury homes, cars and cash, in one of Singapore’s biggest anti-money laundering probes.
All of those caught are not Singapore citizens or permanent residents.
Prohibition of disposal orders were issued against 105 properties, with a total estimated value of $831 million.

The items seized included more than 35 related bank accounts, more than 250 luxury bags and watches, more than 270 pieces of jewellery and documents with information on virtual assets.
“Accountants, real estate agents and solicitors who are involved in the property sector will increasingly need to play a front-line role in protecting and defending the real estate market from criminal exploitation.
“It is not possible for the police to arrest their way out of this problem. It genuinely requires a whole-of-society approach,” said Mr Miralis.
On June 28, Singapore introduced onerous rules requiring developers to perform risk analysis, carry out customer due diligence checks, report suspicious transactions and implement programmes to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing for properties under construction.
“This includes ongoing monitoring of the purchasers throughout the whole construction period until legal completion, which usually takes about three years to five years to complete,” Ms Mok said.
She noted, however, that there are non-property developers and individuals not governed under the Housing Developers (Control and Licencing) Act or the Sale of Commercial Properties Act, and they may not have the resources or capacity to conduct due diligence checks on buyers.
“Perhaps some form of governance should also be imposed on all vendors, not only property developers, to require due diligence checks on their purchasers and third-party payers to be cleared before options are issued, or sale and purchase agreements are entered into.
“Perhaps real estate agents can play a role in this aspect to conduct due diligence checks for their customers,” Ms Mok said.
MORE ON THIS TOPIC
‘Golden passport’: A Plan B for the rich, a rear exit and safe haven for crooks
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Developers who fail to comply with the new requirements may be guilty of an offence and can be fined up to $100,000. They may also face suspension or revocation of any licence that has been granted to them if found guilty of a money-laundering or terror-funding offence.
Lawyers shared with ST the different ways dirty money could be laundered through the property market:

Use of a third party​

Criminals often buy properties using the name of someone who is not on the police radar or a local person to avoid direct involvement in the money-laundering process. The property may be held in trust for the criminal.

Rents to legitimise illicit funds​

Criminals may buy property under a third party’s name and pay that third party rent using illicit funds. By “renting” their property through a third party, criminals can disguise illicit funds and ownership.
They can also lease out their properties and provide tenants with illicit funds to cover the rental to legitimise the illicit funds.

Home improvements​

Criminals use illicit funds to pay for renovations, thereby increasing the value of the property, which is then sold at a higher price.

Front, shell and other structures​

Criminals may set up front companies, shell companies, trusts and other company structures in Singapore or overseas to buy properties and distance themselves from ownership.

False declaration​

Criminals can collude with third parties, such as property agents, to under- or overestimate the value of a property. The difference is settled with undisclosed cash payments.
When a property is undervalued, the criminal (buyer) can claim that the amount paid in the contract is consistent with his legitimate financial means.
If the property was sold at the market value or higher, the profit would serve to legitimise the illicit funds. This method is also used to pay less stamp duty.
Criminals may overvalue a property to obtain the largest possible loan from a lender. The larger the loan, the greater the amount of illicit funds that can be laundered to service the debt.
“Some open accounts with banks to take up funding. But within a year, they pay up the loan in cash,” said a lawyer, highlighting how this could be a red flag.
Loans and mortgages can be used as a cover for laundering the proceeds of crime, and their repayment can be used to mix illicit with legitimate funds.
To further confuse the audit trail, criminals may seek to resell a property in quick succession.
The property is sold at a higher value, either to related or acquainted third parties, or to companies or trusts controlled by the criminal. This gives an appearance of seemingly legitimate profits while the criminal maintains control over the property.

Use of multiple accounts​

Those who want to avoid triggering any suspicion or alerts may deposit small amounts of cash across different banks and avoid triggering threshold transaction reports. The funds are then used to obtain bank cheques to buy properties.

Engaging many professionals​

Criminals may use multiple professionals to further complicate the money-laundering process to avoid detection. This provides a veneer of legitimacy to criminal activity and a buffer between criminals and their financial activities and assets.

 

[k1976]

Cannot say like that, we very transparent and honest wan

 

[knowwhatyouwantinlife]

Hmm no mention of our local banks yet...I do wonder how things work sometimes...do the authorities wait long enough until there is enough evidence to apprehend the suspects but doing so there would be collateral damage along the way?