Businessmen Su Shuiming (left) and Su Shuijun have been placed on the wanted list in China. - PHOTOS: ZHOUCUN, ZIBO CHINESE POLICE
SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/ANN): More than S$530 million (RM1.8 billion) in cash and assets, including 28 properties, have been issued with prohibition of disposal orders or seized from two foreigners who have fled the country.
The police said in a statement on May 22 that the men, aged 37 and 39 years old, are part of the $3 billion money laundering probe.
“Both men had left Singapore prior to the police’s investigations against them, and are currently not in Singapore,” the police said.
Although they did not identify the suspects, The Straits Times understands the individuals are businessmen Su Shuiming and Su Shuijun.
A report earlier in May by ST and the investigative journalism group Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) exposed the business and property holdings of the two China-born individuals who left Singapore abruptly in 2023.
The report revealed that Su Shuiming and Su Shuijun were placed on the wanted list in China just weeks after the August 2023 anti-money laundering operation in Singapore led to the arrest of 10 foreigners.
Company records in Britain show that Su Shuiming was born in February 1985, which would make him 39 years old in 2024, and Su Shuijun was born in December 1986, which means he is 37 years old.
ST contacted the police then to confirm that the men were linked to the case in Singapore, but a spokesman declined to say if they are involved in or assisting with any investigations in the Republic.
In their May 22 statement, the police said that they took control of about $530 million worth of assets belonging to the two men in late 2023.
They added that the items form part of the more than $3 billion worth of assets seized or issued with prohibition of disposal orders in the case.
“In relation to the 37-year-old man, the police had issued prohibition of disposal orders for nine properties, two vehicles and four country club memberships.
“The police had also frozen bank accounts with a total balance of more than $157 million, and seized about $93,000 in cash, and more than 200 pieces of jewellery, luxury bags and collectibles,” the statement added.
The police added that they issued prohibition of disposal orders for 19 properties, three vehicles and three country club memberships linked to the 39-year-old man.
“The police had also frozen bank accounts with a total balance of more than $145 million, and seized about $300,000 in cash, bottles of liquor and more than 60 pieces of jewellery, luxury bags, and watches,” they added.
Prohibition of disposal orders issued by the police prevent the assets from being disposed of during the investigations.
For real estate properties, the police said they will cause a caveat to be lodged in the Land Titles Registry against them.
“Unless the caveat is lifted, the transfer of the properties’ ownership and their sale cannot be completed. Generally, assets issued with prohibition orders will be dealt with by the courts when the case concludes,” the police said.
Su Shuiming’s registered address in Fourth Avenue remains occupied by a man who claims to be his employee. ST PHOTO: ANDREW WONG
Dubai Unlocked
Su Shuiming and Su Shuijun are among 74 suspects currently on the run from the authorities in China for their roles in a cross-border online gambling syndicate.
This is based on an updated notice in March from the Public Security Bureau in Zibo, China, which states that the suspects are staying abroad illegally.
In a report on May 16, ST and OCCRP revealed that Shuiming and Shuijun own more than $31 million in properties in Dubai.
They each own 11 units at the Grande Downtown, a luxury development directly opposite the Burj Khalifa. Su Shuiming bought the entire 66th floor of the Grande Downtown, while Su Shuijun bought all the units on the 68th floor.
The report also exposed the property holdings in Dubai of several others linked to the case in Singapore.
Cypriot national Su Haijin, who was convicted and sentenced to 14 months’ jail on April 4 after forfeiting about 95 per cent of his $174 million in assets in Singapore, owns the entire 58th floor of the same building.
The units are worth more than $15.4 million in total.
Cypriot national Chen Mulin owns 24 properties in Dubai worth more than $28 million, including the entire 67th floor of the Grande Downtown.
Chen, who was identified by the MInistry of Law as one of 24 known associates of the money launderers, shares his home address at Gramercy Park in Grange Road with Su Haijin, and Su Baolin’s wife, Ma Ning.
Su Baolin was sentenced to 14 months’ jail in April, after forfeiting about $65 million, or 90 per cent of his seized assets.
In Singapore, Su Shuiming, who holds passports from Cambodia and Cyprus, lived in a sprawling house in Fourth Avenue in Bukit Timah.
Su Shuijun, who also holds passports from Cambodia and Cyprus, previously lived in a 27,000 sq ft good class bungalow in Queen Astrid Park.
The police, in their statement on May 22, also said that investigations are ongoing against 15 other people who are not in Singapore.
They include Cambodian nationals Su Yongcan and Wang Huoqiang, who have had warrants of arrest and Interpol red notices issued against them.
Su Yongcan is the brother-in-law of Wang Dehai, one of the 10 foreigners arrested in the money laundering case, while Wang Huoqiang is Dehai’s cousin.
Cypriot national Wang Dehai, who is facing two money laundering charges, is expected to plead guilty on June 13.
ST understands that Su Binghai and Su Fuxiang, two foreign individuals identified in an earlier report as having fled the country amid the money laundering probe, are among the 15 people linked to the case.
In their statement, the police said they have been working with Interpol to issue red notices against some of the 15 individuals linked to the case. - The Straits Times/ANN
