Eighth money laundering accused, Wang Dehai, expected to plead guilty on Jun 13

CYPRUS passport holder Wang Dehai is expected to plead guilty on Jun 13, court records on Thursday (May 16) show.

He is the eighth of 10 foreign nationals embroiled in Singapore’s largest money laundering case that has indicated a guilty plea.

Wang faces two charges related to money laundering. The first alleged that he possesses cash of S$2.3 million which, in whole or in part, represents benefits from unlawful gambling offences.

The second charge sheet stated that he bought a unit at condominium The Marq at Paterson Hill using S$23 million in criminal proceeds.

Wang has been in remand since his arrest at the Paterson Hill condominium on Aug 15, 2023, during an islandwide anti-money laundering blitz. More than S$3 billion in assets have been seized in relation to this case.

Over S$43 million of his assets have been seized or issued prohibition of disposal orders, which means they cannot be sold. They include properties, cars, luxury items and cash in bank accounts.

The Business Times previously reported that three adjoining shophouses in Chinatown that were placed on the market at S$61.1 million in January were bought by a Chinese businessman with links to Wang.

BT also reported that warrants of arrest and Interpol Red Notices have been issued for his brother-in-law Su Yongcan and cousin Wang Huoqiang. Both had left Singapore prior to the August 2023 raid.

Wang is represented by Tan Rajah & Cheah’s Megan Chia.

Six money launderers – Su Haijin, Su Baolin, Zhang Ruijin, Su Wenqiang, Wang Baosen and Vang Shuiming – have pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 13 to 15 months’ jail.

Another accused, Chen Qingyuan, is expected to plead guilty on May 23, while the remaining two accused – Lin Baoying and Su Jianfeng – are still in remand.

On Thursday, Su Jianfeng was slapped with six new charges related to submitting forged documents to Maybank Singapore and OCBC.