S$1 billion bust raises questions about anti-money laundering checks for country club memberships

FROM bearbrick collectibles to uber-posh penthouses, all asset classes can be used for money laundering – so long as there’s a buy-and-sell market and the items are of significant value. Expensive country club memberships meet the criteria.

Flipping through copies of the Sentosa Golf Club magazine, The Business Times (BT) found four names – listed as new members in 2021 – that matched some of those arrested in the S$1 billion anti-money laundering blitz earlier this week.

The current rate for a foreign individual to become a member of Sentosa Golf Club (SGC) stands at about S$950,000, according to Madeline Choo, sales director of Active Golf Services, a club membership broker. And there’s a thriving secondary market for these memberships.