THE police have incurred about S$646,282 in costs as at March 2024 relating to the storage, maintenance and safeguarding of assets seized in Singapore’s largest anti-money laundering case, said Minister for Home Affairs and Law K Shanmugam on Tuesday (May 7).
The seized assets comprise properties, vehicles, and luxury goods such as branded bags, watches, and alcohol and are worth more than S$3 billion.
In a written response to a parliamentary question, Shanmugam said: “This includes expenses for engaging specialised services from industry partners or service providers to oversee the handling, upkeep and value preservation of the assets.”
These expenses are borne by the state. They are covered by the forfeited cash, and the proceeds of sale of the forfeited non-cash assets, which are channelled to the state, the minister said.
According to an update in January, the authorities had issued prohibition of disposal orders for 207 properties and seized 77 vehicles, more than S$1.45 billion in bank accounts, and more than S$76 million in cash of various currencies.
Thousands of bottles of liquor and wine, cryptocurrency worth more than S$38 million, 68 gold bars, 483 luxury bags, 169 branded watches and 580 pieces of jewellery have also been confiscated.
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Among the 10 foreigners arrested, five have pleaded guilty so far and have been sentenced to jail. They are Su Wenqiang, Su Haijin, Wang Baosen, Su Baolin and Zhang Rujin.
Su Wenqiang and Wang Baosen were deported to Cambodia on May 6 and are barred from re-entering Singapore.
