Zhang Ruijin in S$3B money laundering case sentenced to 15 months jail

SINGAPORE: Zhang Ruijin, a Chinese national involved in Singapore’s landmark S$3 billion money laundering case, received a 15-month jail sentence on Tuesday (30 April).

The 45-year-old admitted guilt to two forgery-related offences and one count of failing to provide a satisfactory account for property suspected to be derived from criminal activities.

Additionally, five similar charges were considered during sentencing.

He was also directed to forfeit approximately S$118 million of his assets to the state, representing about 90% of the S$131 million initially seized by authorities.

Among the ten accused, he is the fifth to be addressed in connection with the case.

Initially charged with three forgery-related offences, Zhang faced an additional five charges last Friday, concerning forgery and his inability to account for approximately S$36 million deposited into his bank accounts.

Zhang’s 15-month jail term will be backdated approximately eight months to his arrest date in August last year.

This month, four others accused—Wang Baosen, Su Haijin, Su Wenqiang, and Su Baolin—received sentences ranging from 13 to 14 months.

Zhang, originally from Fujian, China, was apprehended alongside his partner Lin Baoying, 44, in a bungalow on Pearl Island in Sentosa Cove on 15 August last year.

Assets totalling over S$131 million, including cash, cryptocurrency, and vehicles, were confiscated from Zhang.

The court learned that between July and October 2020, deposits totalling HK$138,179,100 (S$24 million) were made into Zhang’s CIMB account in Singapore.

When asked by the bank to explain the source of the funds and provide supporting documents, Zhang claimed they were proceeds from selling a property in Macau.

He later submitted a document dated 20 June 2020, allegedly evidencing the property sale.

Prosecutors alleged that Zhang knowingly used a forged document as he did not own such property, acquiring it from someone specifically to bolster his claim to the bank.

Similarly, in August 2020, Zhang provided CIMB with another forged document.

This document purported to show that he had received a HK$7.5 million loan, explaining a deposit of the same amount into his account.

Zhang failed to provide a satisfactory account for this sum, reasonably suspected to be proceeds of criminal activities, directly or indirectly.

This formed the basis of the third charge against him.

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.

Each count of fraudulent use of forged documents could have resulted in Zhang facing a maximum sentence of four years in jail, a fine, or both.

Regarding his failure to provide a satisfactory account for possessing property reasonably suspected of representing benefits from criminal conduct, Zhang could have faced a fine of up to S$150,000, a maximum jail term of three years, or both.