For decades, Singapore has taken steps to attract the uber rich, spawning a finance industry that’s made it one of the wealthiest countries. The surprise sting operation to take down the online gambling ring last year prompted a rethink, amid signs dirty money is joining legitimate businesses.
In a Singapore courtroom on Friday, the last of those arrested for their involvement in the island nation’s biggest laundering case pleaded guilty, paving the way for the next steps in the $3 billion scandal.
The city-state must now decide what to do with a fortune in forfeited assets, from luxury properties to collectible ornamental bears and branded handbags. There’s also several hundred million dollars of local and foreign currencies in accounts at some of the world’s top wealth managers. Credit Suisse — now owned by UBS Group, and Citigroup held the largest amounts on deposit so far for the convicted, according to court filings reviewed by Bloomberg. Others with significant exposure include the country’s three largest banks — DBS Group Holdings, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp and United Overseas Bank (SGX:U11
) .
