Fourth accused in S$3B money laundering case set to plead guilty on 30 April

SINGAPORE: In Singapore’s S$3 billion money laundering case, a fourth individual is set to enter a guilty plea on 30 April.

Court records on Friday (19 April) revealed that Zhang Ruijin, a Chinese national, will plead guilty to three charges of forgery.

The 45-year-old defendant is accused of forging documents to deceive CIMB bank, facing three charges related to this offence.

The forged documents include two property sale agreements in Macau and a loan agreement falsely claiming funds borrowed

Zhang, who has been in custody for over eight months, was apprehended alongside his partner Lin Baoying, 44, in a bungalow on Pearl Island in Sentosa Cove on 15 August last year.

They were among the 10 Fujian-origin individuals apprehended in the anti-money laundering operation, resulting in the seizure of over $3 billion in cash and assets.

Zhang and Lin have been acquainted for over a decade, and their combined assets in Singapore amount to approximately S$325 million, as stated in affidavits provided by investigating officers.

Lin, also a Chinese national, has had approximately S$215.5 million in assets seized or frozen by the authorities.

For Zhang, the value of seized or frozen assets amounts to at least S$109.8 million.

As the only woman in the group, Lin faces two charges of forgery and one for perverting the course of justice.

Both individuals were denied bail in October 2023 due to being considered flight risks, and possessing multiple passports each.

Despite Zhang’s second attempt to secure bail in December last year, he was unsuccessful.

Zhang is represented by two legal teams – one led by Mr. Eugene Thuraisingam and the other by Mr. Richard Siaw from R.S. Solomon.

According to a statement issued by the Rainbow Centre, three accused in the S$3 billion money laundering case, including Vang Shuiming, Su Haijin and Zhang Ruijin, donated a total of S$72,450 between 2020 and 2023.

Investigation revealed that Zhang was a director and shareholder at Golden Eagle Assets, and a director at Golden Eagle Family Office Pte Ltd., which was incorporated on 03 Oct 2019 according to an online source.

On 2 April, Su Wenqiang (苏文强) became the 1st accused in the case to be convicted, sentenced to 3 months in jail for money laundering charges; followed by SuHaijin (苏海金) who received a 14-month prison sentence on 4 April.

On 16 April, Wang Baosen, a 32-year-old Chinese national, was sentenced to 13 months’ imprisonment by a Singaporean court, marking him as the third individual convicted in this landmark case.