Fourth man in $3b money-laundering case sentenced to 14 months' jail

SINGAPORE — Su Baolin, one of the 10 foreigners in Singapore's largest money-laundering case, made millions from his role in illegal online gambling operations abroad, said prosecutors.

He got the money into Singapore by funnelling it through his accomplices and cryptocurrency platforms to make it hard for the authorities to detect his crimes.

And when the police found a large sum of money in his bungalow, he lied that he had won the money by gambling in casinos.

On April 29, Su was sentenced to 14 months' jail after pleading guilty to three charges — two for money laundering and one for abetting false representations made to the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras).

Su, 42, who is originally from China and holds a Cambodian passport, faced a total of 13 charges.

The other 10 charges included forgery, making false declarations to the Ministry of Manpower and refusing to sign statements he made at Changi Prison. These were taken into consideration for sentencing.

With one-third remission, Su — who has been in remand since his arrest on Aug 15, 2023 — could be out by end-May.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Eric Hu told the court the police seized more than $100 million from Su. After accounting for his liabilities, this amounted to about $72 million worth of assets.

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On the day of Su's arrest, police found about $777,220 cash in two safes in his good class bungalow (GCB) in Nassim Road.

Su initially told the Commercial Affairs Department he acquired this cash from buying cryptocurrency, and then claimed he won the money by gambling in casinos.

He could not explain how he acquired the cash. DPP Hu said there is reasonable suspicion this cash can be traced to his criminal proceeds.

He said Su was linked to an illegal gambling site, and had supervised online websites between 2019 and 2023, earning cryptocurrency worth $5 million to $6 million.

Su used over $332,200 of this money to buy a Toyota Alphard Hybrid in 2022.

From 2020 to 2022, as the director of a firm called Xinbao Investment Holdings, Su conspired with Wang Junjie to make inflated representations to Iras on the company's financial situation.

Su did this to make the firm appear progressively profitable, so that he would have a higher chance of getting permanent residency in Singapore, said DPP Hu.

He and his family applied for permanent residency in 2022, but their applications were rejected.

The prosecution sought a jail term of between 14 and 16 months, noting that this term was already mitigated as Su had forfeited most of his assets.

Su's lawyer, Sunil Sudheesan, argued for a shorter jail term of 12 months and three weeks. He argued that the amounts involved in his client's money-laundering charges were lower than those of two other accused, Su Haijin and Wang Baosen, who were convicted in April.

Sudheesan added that the authorities had known in August 2023 that Su Baolin faced a risk of cancer, but he underwent a biopsy on his large intestine only in April. The results are not out yet.

As Su Baolin was denied bail, Sudheesan said his waiting period behind bars was torturous, and he constantly worried about cancer.

Asking to let his client be releasedt to get treatment, the lawyer said: "He made a mistake, he has admitted to his actions, he accepts responsibility, and he has served his time."

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DPP Hu said the chief medical officer of prisons has said the prisons can care for Su Baolin.

The prosecutor added that the defence did not show how Su Baolin's condition affected his ability to serve a prison sentence.

About the charge of making false representations to Iras, Sudheesan said Su Baolin did not evade tax, but in fact paid additional tax.

DPP Hu said this was part of Su Baolin's modus operandi to inflate his financials, and he ought not to be sentenced leniently because of this.

So far, three others in the group have been dealt with.

On April 2, Cambodian national Su Wenqiang, 32, was sentenced to 13 months' jail after he pleaded guilty to two counts of money laundering. He is the first in the group to be sentenced and faced 11 charges.

Cypriot national Su Haijin, 41, who had jumped from the second-floor balcony of a GCB during a police raid, was sentenced to 14 months' jail on April 4. He had faced 14 charges.

The third person, Chinese national Wang Baosen, 32, was sentenced to 13 months' jail after pleading guilty on April 16 to two charges of money laundering. He faced eight charges.

Su Wenqiang had forfeited his assets worth more than $5.9 million to the state. Su Haijin will forfeit more than $165 million, or around 95 per cent of his assets. Wang Baosen had forfeited assets worth around $8 million.

Chinese national Zhang Ruijin, who faces eight charges, is expected to plead guilty on April 30.

ALSO READ: $3b money laundering case: Man who jumped from GCB balcony during raid gets 14 months' jail

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.