Accused in S$2.8B money laundering case claims to be “IT Company” CEO, but can’t locate office

SINGAPORE: Su Jianfeng (苏剑锋), accused in Singapore’s S$2.8 billion money laundering case, vehemently asserted his position as the CEO of An Xing Technology, a Singapore-based company, in a bid to counter the prosecution’s claim of his high flight risk.

Contradicting to his claim, an affidavit by the investigating officer (IO) disclosed to the court on Wednesday (18 Oct) indicated that Su’s company was, in fact, a shell entity.

According to IO Lye Jia He of the Singapore Police Force’s Commercial Affairs Department, despite Su holding the position of CEO, his knowledge about the company’s operations was severely limited.

“He could not state the number of employees in the company, could not identify its employees, customers and suppliers, and could not even state where the company was located.”

“He also could not provide any documents showing his employment or work done. It is therefore plain that the accused has little to no involvement in the company, or if the company is even a going concern, ” IO Lye informed the court, backing the prosecution’s objection to Su’s bail during the hearing.

Su Jianfeng, a 35-year-old citizen of Vanuatu but originally from Fujian, China, was apprehended on Aug 15 during a comprehensive island-wide raid conducted by Singapore authorities, leading to the arrest of ten individuals.

Described by the prosecution as unprecedented in scale and magnitude, the operation resulted in the confiscation of assets worth billions, including luxury vehicles, properties, and a substantial amount of cash.

According to a report by CNA, IO Lye highlighted several crucial points regarding Su’s company’s financial transactions.

As of August 15, Su’s company, An Xing Technology, possessed only one corporate bank account with CIMB. Records showed three deposits in 2022, with values of S$20,000, S$999,965, and S$999,965, but no activity in 2023.

Previous accounts with RHB and UOB had been closed in December 2021 and May 2023, respectively.

“In particular, I note that there were no deposits in the CIMB account between May 2, 2023 and Aug 31, 2023 (when the CIMB account was the company’s sole bank account),” IO Lye added.

“Instead, there were only large withdrawals being made which depleted the CIMB account.”

Su’s claim of “strong ties to Singapore”

Concerning Su’s claim of “strong ties to Singapore” in his affidavit, IO Lye countered by stating that Su, his wife, three children, and his parents are all foreign nationals.

Notably, they had only arrived in Singapore recently, with his parents visiting as late as August 2, 2023.

“On his own account, the accused and his family have only been in Singapore since 2019 or 2020. His parents are residents in China and only arrived in Singapore on Aug 2, 2023, on a social visit pass.”

Regarding Su’s defense that his assets in Dubai do not suggest he’s a flight risk, IO Lye countered that his substantial wealth overseas, exceeding S$12 million, provides a strong incentive for him to flee Singapore.

Furthermore, Su may face additional forgery charges for allegedly submitting forged documents to banks to obscure the source of funds deposited into his accounts.

Currently, Su faces four charges related to illegal proceeds from remote gambling offenses, including S$17 million stored in three safe deposit boxes and S$550,903 in cash. His wife is also involved as a witness in the investigations.

13 properties valued at S$115.3 million seized by authorities

Assets in Su and his wife’s name that were seized or frozen comprise S$18.4 million in cash, S$66.1 million in bank accounts, S$26.5 million in cryptocurrency, 13 properties valued at S$115.3 million, and four vehicles worth S$4.7 million.

On Wednesday, District Judge Terence Tay denied Su’s bail, citing his failure to provide a satisfactory explanation for the source of his funds, ongoing investigations, and the presence of accomplices still at large.

Su has denied submitting forged documents to banks, but IO Lye responded to Su’s affidavit by stating that evidence from investigations indicates that Su knowingly engaged in such forgery.

These documents include falsified sales contracts, loan agreements, and annual reports presented to banks as supporting documents for the origin of funds in Singapore bank accounts held by him and his wife.

IO Lye added that further forgery charges may be filed once investigations are completed.

In his affidavit, Su claimed that his wealth, used to finance properties in Singapore and overseas, originated from earnings as a property agent in a real estate brokerage and revenue from cryptocurrency trading.

However, IO Lye expressed doubt, asserting that Su’s primary source of wealth appears to be unlawful remote gambling offences, as he couldn’t provide a credible explanation for other income sources.

Additionally, the police have been unable to verify the authenticity of property transactions in Dubai, and Su hasn’t provided any credible evidence of his employment with the real estate brokerage.

His assertion of cryptocurrency trading remains unverified due to the absence of supporting documentation.

Chinese authorities have sought Su Jianfeng and other individuals since 2015

It was revealed that some of the accused in the S$2.8 billion money laundering case, are wanted by Chinese authorities for their involvement in various unlawful activities, such as illegal gambling or fraud.

A comparison with Chinese media reports suggests that some of these suspects have been sought by Chinese authorities for their alleged involvement in criminal activities dating as far back as 2015.

In 2015,  the Guiyang County Public Security Bureau discovered that Su Jianfeng, along with other individuals, Wang Dehai, Su Wenqiang, Wang Huoqiang, and Su Yongcan were suspects of a major crime, and they were fugitives at that time.

In a noteworthy connection to the current S$2.8 billion case, Su, Wang Dehai (王德海), and Su Wenqiang (苏文强) are among the ten individuals arrested and charged.