Patek Philippe watches, Hermes bags, gold bars from S$3 billion money laundering bust to be liquidated by Deloitte
Nine men and one woman were convicted during the 2024 case, and were jailed for between 13 and 17 months
[SINGAPORE] A total of 466 luxury items and 58 pieces of gold bars from the S$3 billion money laundering case have been handed over by the police to professional services firm Deloitte to manage and liquidate.
They include Patek Philippe and Richard Mille watches, multiple diamond-encrusted jewellery, Hermes and Louis Vuitton handbags. The gold bars each weighed between 999 g and 1 kg.
The assets were among items seized in an anti-money laundering operation that saw 10 foreigners arrested in multiple raids on Aug 15, 2023, and 17 other suspects who fled Singapore amid the probe.
The police said it would progressively hand over all the remaining non-cash assets to Deloitte to manage and liquidate.
In total, police seized or took control of around S$1.25 billion in non-cash assets during investigations, including cars, properties, art, watches, jewellery, gold bars, handbags and bottles of alcohol.
Some of the items, including 54 properties, were liquidated earlier in 2024.
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On Aug 12, the police 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 which have yet to be liquidated to Deloitte...
“Between Aug 11 and 12, police handed over 466 luxury goods and 58 pieces of gold bars to Deloitte,” said a police spokesperson.
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 S$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 and Law Minister K Shanmugam told Parliament in a written response on Feb 26 that as at December 2024, around S$2.79 billion out of the S$3 billion linked to the case had been surrendered to the state.
They include S$1.54 billion in cash and financial assets.
Shanmugam said that 54 properties, 33 vehicles and 11 country club memberships were liquidated by the end of December 2024.
He added that around S$1.8 million had been paid into the Consolidated Fund by the end of 2024, with another S$390 million to be paid within the 2024 financial year.
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.
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 S$1.45 billion in bank accounts and more than S$76 million in cash of various currencies.
Alongside these assets, thousands of bottles of liquor and wine, cryptocurrency worth more than S$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 S$27.45 million were imposed on nine financial institutions on Jul 4, after the scandal exposed critical weaknesses in the banks, which include shortcomings in the assessment of a customer’s risk and source of wealth, the monitoring of suspicious transactions and 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 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 conduct customer due diligence measures on clients linked to the case.
The fallout of the investigations also led to 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 heavier deterrents to be placed on estate agents, salespersons and developers.
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