Singapore to sell luxury homes seized in record money laundering case

SINGAPORE is set to auction a number of luxury properties seized in the country’s largest laundering case, said people familiar with the matter.

Consulting firm Deloitte has approached multiple property brokers about plans for selling the properties, the sources said, asking not to be named because the matter is private. The details will be announced soon as part of a wider plan to liquidate assets confiscated from the group, they added. 

Authorities had previously seized more than 200 properties, many situated in prime locations such as Orchard Road and Sentosa. Numerous real estate assets are set to be put up for sale, likely via auction, the people said.

Deloitte and the Singapore police force did not provide comments in response to emailed queries from Bloomberg.

The sale would mark the next step in a major S$3 billion laundering case involving criminals from China’s southern Fujian province. The case shook the country’s financial and luxury sectors when some of the members were arrested in raids in 2023.

Authorities have already begun liquidating some of the seized items, including cars and some residential and commercial assets.

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While Singapore’s luxury property sector and broader private residential market have continued to rise, certain properties have been sold at steep discounts compared with the inflated prices paid by members of the illicit group.

Several of the asset sales have been driven by banks that gave loans to the group. One notable property involving a sea-facing plot on Sentosa was eventually sold to a local buyer for about S$22 million – nearly half of its original purchase price. BLOOMBERG