TWO foreign nationals accused in Singapore’s biggest money laundering case were slapped with new charges related to forgery and fraud on Wednesday (Jan 31).

One of them, Turkish national Vang Shuiming, was handed 11 new charges related to submitting forged financial statements to brokerage UOB Kay Hian as supporting documentation.

Charge sheets stated that he submitted five financial statements from 2017 to 2021 for two companies, Xiamen Likanghang Trading and Xiamen Yetian Trading. He also allegedly submitted a forged financial statement from 2015 for Xiamen Mingxin Guarantee.

This brings the number of charges faced by Vang to 16.

One of his previous charges alleged that he had a UOB Kay Hian account containing S$391,095.60 generated from unlicensed moneylending operations in China.

The investigating officer for Vang’s case also said in his affidavit that the authorities had seized around S$600,000 in Vang’s assets that were parked with UOB Kay Hian.

GET BT IN YOUR INBOX DAILY

Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.

Sign UpVIEW ALL

Vang, who also holds passports from China and Vanuatu, is in remand, having failed two High Court bids to be released on bail.

The other accused, Su Wenqiang, was handed two fresh charges for attempting to fraudulently apply for an employment pass for himself and his purported wife Su Yanping.

The first charge stated that the accused had applied for an employment pass in February 2022 and declared that he was hired as a sales director by Fleur Business Service, although he had no intention of being employed there.

The second charge alleged that he had engaged in a conspiracy in February 2022 with an individual known as “Wen Wen” to obtain a work pass for Su Yanping.

Su Wenqiang allegedly had instructed “Wen Wen” to apply for an employment pass on Su Yanping’s behalf and declare that she would be employed by Ju You Family Office, but she was not.

He now faces 11 charges, including the two money laundering charges in August 2023 and an additional seven that he was handed on Monday.

Six of the seven charges read in court on Monday were related to money laundering, while one was related to forging a Chinese marriage certificate certifying his marriage to Su Yanping in China in 2018, when no such marriage registration was made.

The forgery charge noted that the certificate was intended to be fraudulently used in a Dependant’s Pass application to Singapore’s Manpower Ministry.

Both Vang and Su Wenqiang will be back in court on Feb 1 for pre-trial conferences.