Yahoo Finance Singapore sends convicted money launderer to 13 months in jail
By Low De Wei
(Bloomberg) — The first person to plead guilty among ten people arrested last year in Singapore’s record S$3 billion ($2.2 billion) money laundering case was sentenced to 13 months in jail.
Su Wenqiang, 32, pleaded guilty during a court hearing on Tuesday. His jail sentence will be backdated to his arrest in August.
Su faced 11 charges including for forgery and laundering criminal proceeds through activities like buying multiple bottles of prized liquor and paying S$48,000 a month to rent a luxury condominium near the city-state’s Orchard Road shopping belt. The prosecution proceeded with two charges.
A strong message needed to be sent that money laundering is a serious offence and affects Singapore’s reputation as a financial hub, the prosecution told Su through an interpreter. Lawyers for Su had asked for a reduced sentence, arguing that the victims for the illegal acts were not in Singapore.
Su’s sentencing will mark the next chapter in a scandal that has ensnared the world’s largest banks and raised questions about the financial hub’s safeguards against illicit money flows. More developments are in store this week with at least one other suspect in remand also planning to plead guilty, according to a scheduled court hearing.
Su was born in China’s Fujian province and holds multiple passports including those from Cambodia and Vanuatu. He was accused of seeking to launder proceeds from an illegal remote gambling service in the Philippines targeting people in China.
—With assistance from Chanyaporn Chanjaroen.
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
