Luxury items seized in $3b money laundering case handed over to Deloitte for liquidation

A total of 466 luxury items and 58 pieces of gold bars from the $3 billion money laundering case have been handed over by police to professional services firm Deloitte to manage and liquidate.

They include Patek Philippe and Richard Mille watches, multiple pieces of diamond-encrusted jewellery, and Hermes and Louis Vuitton handbags. The gold bars weigh between 999g and 1kg each.

The items were among assets seized in an anti-money laundering operation that saw 10 foreigners arrested in multiple raids on Aug 15, 2023, and 17 other suspects flee Singapore amid the probe.

The police said they would progressively hand over all the remaining non-cash assets to Deloitte to manage and liquidate.

In total, the police seized or took control of around $1.25 billion in non-cash assets – including cars, properties, art, watches, jewellery, gold bars, handbags and bottles of alcohol – during investigations.

Some of the items, including 54 properties, were liquidated earlier in 2024.

The police incurred costs of $2.65 million in the 2023 and 2024 financial years to maintain and manage the assets, a spokesman told The Straits Times.

On Aug 12, the police said they had formally appointed Deloitte & Touche Financial Advisory Services for the management and liquidation of the remaining non-cash assets.

“To facilitate this, police are progressively handing over all remaining non-cash assets that have yet to be liquidated to Deloitte. Between Aug 11 and 12, police handed over 466 luxury goods items and 58 pieces of gold bars to Deloitte,” said the police spokesman.

Deloitte will submit its proposals for the sale of the assets in due time, and the proceeds will be paid into the Consolidated Fund, the police spokesman said. “These could include auctions and direct selling. Deloitte will commence the realisation of the assets upon the Government’s approval of the proposals.”

Revenues of Singapore are paid into the Consolidated Fund, which is similar to a bank account held by the Government, out of which government expenditures are made.

The nine men and one woman arrested were convicted in 2024 and jailed for between 13 and 17 months for offences including money laundering, forgery and resisting arrest.

They were deported and barred from entering Singapore after completing their jail terms.

Items surrendered

The 27 foreigners had spent lavishly in Singapore, with many living in good class bungalows and joining Sentosa Golf Club, where membership for foreigners cost around $950,000 at its peak.

It came to an end when more than 400 officers, including those from the Criminal Investigation Department, Commercial Affairs Department, Special Operations Command or riot police, and Police Intelligence Department, raided their homes.

When they received news of the blitz, 17 suspects fled the country, leaving behind assets such as luxury cars, watches and jewellery in their haste.

Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam, who was then also Law Minister, told Parliament in a written response on Feb 26 that as at December 2024, around $2.79 billion out of the $3 billion linked to the case had been surrendered to the state. This included $1.54 billion in cash and financial assets.

Mr Shanmugam, who is now also Coordinating Minister for National Security, said that 54 properties, 33 vehicles and 11 country club memberships were liquidated by the end of December 2024.

He added that about $1.8 million had been paid into the Consolidated Fund by the end of 2024, with another $390 million to be paid within the 2024 financial year.

As for the items linked to the case, The Straits Times had reported in January 2024 that the Government confiscated 207 properties, 77 vehicles, more than $1.45 billion in bank accounts and more than $76 million in cash of various currencies.

Alongside these assets, thousands of bottles of liquor and wine, cryptocurrency worth more than $38 million, 68 gold bars, 483 luxury bags, 169 branded watches and 580 pieces of jewellery were also seized.

As a result of the case, penalties amounting to $27.45 million were imposed on nine financial institutions on July 4, after the scandal exposed critical weaknesses in the banks, which included shortcomings in the assessment of a customer’s risk and source of wealth and the monitoring of suspicious transactions, as well as inadequate risk-mitigation measures.

The Ministry of Law also penalised three law firms for anti-money laundering breaches over the purchase of properties linked to the case.

Another three law practices were reprimanded for their involvement in the property deals, and five lawyers were referred to the Law Society of Singapore for potential disciplinary action.

Inquiries into 11 other firms are ongoing.

Action was also taken against two property agents, who were fined for their failure to carry out customer due diligence measures on clients linked to the case.

As a result of the investigations, there were legislative changes and enhanced measures to strengthen anti-money laundering laws in Singapore, such as the Anti-Money Laundering and Other Matters Bill that was passed in Parliament on Aug 6, 2024.

An Inter-Ministerial Committee on Anti-Money Laundering was also formed in November 2023, to look into Singapore’s anti-money laundering framework.

Meanwhile, the Corporate Service Providers Bill and the Companies and Limited Liability Partnerships (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill were both passed in Parliament in July 2024, requiring all business entities providing corporate services to register with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority.

The Anti-Money Laundering and Other Matters (Estate Agents and Developers) Bill, passed in April, has resulted in stricter compliance requirements and enhanced deterrents being placed on estate agents, salespersons and developers.

Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

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