The accused allegedly used their criminal proceeds to buy luxury cars, Tether stablecoins and in one case, an upscale condominium unit near the city’s prime shopping belt for S$23 million, the charge sheets show. Some also allegedly had millions in safe deposit boxes held with Certis Cisco Security Pte., a security firm backed by state investor Temasek Holdings Pte.
Some of the biggest local and international banks in Singapore are becoming embroiled in one of the city-state’s largest money laundering cases involving more than $1 billion of assets.
In charge sheets seen by Bloomberg News, some of the individuals who were arrested and charged this month held funds totaling millions — from unlicensed moneylending in China and illegal gambling — in United Overseas Bank and the local units of Citigroup Inc and RHB Bank. They also allegedly tried to cheat Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp, Standard Chartered and CIMB Bank using fake documents, the charge sheets show.
The wide roster of banks join property agents, precious metals dealers and golf clubs in the city that have been drawn into this scandal, raising questions about guardrails against illicit money flowing into one of the world’s most important financial hubs.
