Court Cases

Su Jianfeng sentenced to 17 months in S$3B money laundering case

Su Jianfeng, the final defendant among ten individuals in the landmark S$3 billion money laundering case, received a 17-month jail term after being convicted of money laundering and forgery. This sentence is the longest term handed down in the case. Su became involved in illegal online gambling operations around 2013. Later, between 2020 and 2022, he acted as a middleman, facilitating the purchase of properties in Dubai for those involved in the case.

Published

5 months ago

10 June 2024

Yee Loon

SINGAPORE: Su Jianfeng, the final defendant among ten individuals in the landmark S$3 billion money laundering case, was sentenced to 17 months’ imprisonment on 6 June after being convicted of money laundering and forgery.

Originally from Fujian, China, Su is a Vanuatu national who pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking, and Other Serious Crimes Act, along with one count of forgery.

An additional 12 charges, including forgery, money laundering, and manpower-related offences for employing a personal chef without a valid work pass, were taken into consideration.

District Judge James Elisha Lee, delivering his verdict on Monday (10 June), remarked that Su exhibited a flagrant disregard for Singaporean law, persistently engaging in illegal activities over an extended period.

As part of his sentence, the 35-year-old forfeited S$178.9 million, representing 95.5% of the assets seized from him and his wife, Chen Qiuyan. Authorities seized a total of approximately S$187 million in assets, including cash, real estate, cryptocurrency, and vehicles.

According to court documents, after relocating to Singapore in August 2020, the couple amassed assets including 12 properties valued at S$63.9 million and seven vehicles valued at S$5.2 million. Chen Qiuyan holds director positions in two companies: Qingfeng Assets and Qingfeng Investment.

Earlier revelations in court indicated that Su became involved in illegal online gambling operations around 2013, after being introduced by a Taiwanese individual. Su was involved in operating illegal online gambling websites in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Manila, Philippines, targeting primarily Chinese gamblers.

During an arrest operation on 15 August last year, authorities discovered S$559,030 in cash in a safe at Su’s residence, all proceeds from illegal online gambling.

To account for his wealth, Su submitted several false property sales contracts to two banks in Singapore.

These contracts included the sale of DC The Grand property numbers 5101 and 3009 to Li Bao, as well as the sale of Residences_E2 property number 2302 to Lin Zhenghu, all submitted to Maybank.

Su claimed deposits totalling $1,029,970 and $969,970 were proceeds from these sales.

Additionally, Su submitted a contract for the sale of Address Boulevard property number 3101 to Wong Hiuluen and a contract for the sale of Emaar Square Bldg 2 property number 408 to Zhou Weihong, both to OCBC Bank.

Su claimed a deposit of $2,999,980 was from the sale of the property.

He also submitted two forged loan agreements to OCBC. In court, Su claimed his wealth came from his work as a real estate agent in Dubai.

Su’s extensive property investment in Dubai

Last month, a data leak uncovered by the investigative journalism group, Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and the Straits Times, suggests that Su Jianfeng may have acted as the middleman facilitating the purchase of properties in Dubai for those involved in the case, primarily between 2020 and 2022.

According to the OCCRP report, Su, despite a 2015 Chinese arrest warrant for alleged illegal gambling, has been revealed as the owner of Fidu Properties DMCC, a Dubai-based property firm marketing properties primarily to buyers from China.

This firm is part of Fidu Property Real Estate Brokerage, a top partner for Dubai’s largest property developer, Emaar Properties PJSC, which is part-owned by Dubai’s ruler.

The report further discloses that Su, Lin Baoying, and Su Haijin purportedly own over $30 million worth of real estate in Dubai, including properties developed by Emaar and brokered by Fidu.

Five other men, named in connection with the Singapore case or wanted by Chinese police, also invested heavily in Dubai property.

Three of them bought three adjacent floors of a skyscraper opposite the Burj Khalifa.

In total, these investors acquired at least 126 properties valued at more than 537 million dirhams (approximately S$197 million).

The Dubai leak suggests that Su Jianfeng had purchased 30 properties in Dubai, including apartments in the Burj Khalifa and a villa in District One Villas Phase Two.

Following his apprehension by the Commercial Affairs Department, authorities discovered that Su possessed 12 properties in Singapore, seven high-end vehicles, tens of millions in cash and bank accounts, and cryptocurrency valued at S$26 million.

Over S$940 million in assets have been forfeited by the 10 convicted foreigners to date.

The police announced on 6 June that the S$3 billion in cash and assets seized in Singapore’s largest money laundering case belonged to 27 individuals, including the 10 convicted individuals. The remaining 17 individuals are currently under investigation.

Eight other accused in the S$3B case: Su Wenqiang, Su Haijin, Wang Baosen, Su Baolin, Zhang Ruijin, Vang Shuiming, Chen Qingyuan, and Lin Baoying already pleaded guilty earlier, all of whom received jail sentences ranging from 13 to 15 months for their involvement in money laundering activities.

Wang Dehai, also among the accused, was sentenced to 16 months in jail last Friday.

Su Wenqiang and Wang Baoshen were deported to Cambodia by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority on 6 May.

Cambodian national Su Baolin and Cypriot national Su Haijin were deported to Cambodia on 25 and 28 May, respectively. Turkish national Vang was deported to Japan last Saturday (1 June). ICA revealed that all five individuals are barred from re-entering Singapore.

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