THE 10 foreigners linked to the S$1 billion money-laundering case were handed new charges as they returned to court on Wednesday (Aug 30).

Noting that there has been “real progress” in investigations, Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Ng Jean Ting said three additional charges for money laundering have been handed to Cambodian national Chen Qingyuan, 33. Chen was the first of the 10 accused persons to appear in court on Wednesday.

The new charges for Chen involve more than S$6 million in bank accounts, a car valued in excess of S$1 million, and cryptocurrency.

Chen’s lawyer, Mark Tan of Focus Law Asia, said he was instructed by the father of three to request for bail.

Tan said: “His family is here, they miss him, and want to be with him. He has a wife and three children aged five, 11 and 12… The two older ones have been studying here since 2017, and they are integrated here. He expresses very strongly that he wants to help his wife look after them.”

He added: “He also tells me (he) is regularly involved in charity and volunteer work with his children and if possible he would like to get back to this.”

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Tan argued that Chen is not a flight risk, as his passport has been seized, and he has “strong ties with Singapore”.

He also noted that Chen, the chief executive of a company that provides cloud solutions, wanted to return and be involved with his company.

On Wednesday, DPP Ng told District Judge Kow Keng Siong that the police having direct and immediate access to Chen is crucial for investigations to move forward expeditiously.

“As I mentioned earlier, there is a risk of contamination (of evidence) and collusion.”

She noted that based on investigations, Chen has “income and real estate overseas”, which would “heighten the risk of abscondment”.

“If Chen’s intention is to get back to work and even to start going back to volunteering, these are clearly engagements that will have an impact on the speed of investigations”.

DPP Ng said that documents pending from financial institutions, forensic examinations and a review of seized devices are ongoing.

Su Wenqiang, 31, also appeared in court on Wednesday. The Cambodian national pleaded to be allowed to see his family after he was handed one additional charge of money laundering.

Speaking through a court interpreter, Su Wenqiang said: “It’s been more than 10 days. I’ve been having insomnia, I am on the verge of a mental breakdown; I’ve approached a doctor for medication to help with my insomnia.”

He said he was agreeable to any form of monitoring, including electronic tagging, and claimed he was “unable to have access to important or sensitive information or evidence”.

DPP Gan Ee Kiat had applied for Su Wenqiang to be remanded for a further eight days in the light of the “unprecedented scale and scope” of the money-laundering case.

The prosecutor said that apart from his Singapore assets, he also has significant wealth and a house overseas worth S$2 million registered under his wife’s name. “There is a strong possibility that investigations will uncover further assets belonging to the accused or his wife,” he added.

Several of the other accused persons have been found to have more assets, such as cash and property, after further investigations by the police. 

Cypriot national Wang Dehai, 34, is said to have overseas properties with a combined worth of S$4 million from which he derives significant rental income, DPP Gan said.

He added that Wang Dehai also has about S$9.7 million in cash in multiple foreign bank accounts and appears to own shares in foreign companies worth S$3.4 million. “Only his assets in Singapore have been frozen, his assets overseas have not.”

Vang Shuiming, 42, has been found to have more than S$2.4 million worth of cash in UOB and RHB bank accounts. The sums are believed to be criminal benefit from an unlicensed moneylending business in China.

Several among the 10 may also be linked to illegal remote gambling. 

Su Jianfeng, 35, is said to possess some S$17 million worth of cash held in three safe deposit boxes, which were the benefits from unlawful remote gambling activities, DPP Foo Shi Hao said.

Charge sheets showed that the boxes were held with Certis Cisco Security.

Two accused persons, Su Wenqiang and Chinese national Wang Baosen, 31, had allegedly used proceeds from unlawful remote gambling offences to buy cars. 

However, Wang’s lawyer, Adrian Wee from Lighthouse Law, said Wang claimed he had financed the purchase using a loan from a relative. 

Some of the accused have also been charged with forgery.

Lin Baoying, 43, the only woman among the 10 charged, was handed one charge of forgery and one charge of perverting the course of justice.

The Chinese national had allegedly forged an agreement, for the sale of a Macau property she claimed she owned, to cheat OCBC.

DPP Ng also noted that Lin had S$200 million in assets seized – among the highest in the group. Another S$80 million in assets were seized from Lin’s boyfriend, Zhang Ruijin, 44.

Zhang, a Chinese national, was previously charged with forging a document in 2020 for the sale of a property located in Macau, which he claimed to own to cheat CIMB. 

He now faces two fresh charges of forgery. The charges were in the context of the bank asking him for the source of his funds, DPP Foo said.

Cambodian national Su Baolin, 41, was also charged with submitting a forged document to Standard Chartered Bank around December 2020. This was for a “borrowing agreement” allegedly between him and one Se Liang, court documents showed.

DPP Ng also noted that investigations showed that Su Baolin worked with an individual outside the 10 arrested. “This indicates Su had links with third parties who may have assisted in falsifying documents,” she said.

Similarly, for Cypriot national Su Haijin, 40, the prosecution flagged “ongoing attempts by third parties on the run to dissipate assets held on Su’s behalf”.

DPP Ng said: “This person may directly or indirectly take steps to affect investigations in Singapore.”

All 10 of the accused are expected to return to court on Sep 6.