Two men convicted in billion-dollar money laundering case deported to Cambodia

SINGAPORE: Two men convicted in Singapore’s largest money laundering case were deported to Cambodia on Monday (May 6).

Su Wenqiang and Wang Baosen, both 32, are barred from re-entering Singapore, an Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) spokesperson said in response to CNA’s queries.

Both men were sentenced to 13 months’ jail last month.

Su was the first suspect to plead guilty in the case and was sentenced on Apr 2. He admitted to 11 charges of money laundering, possessing proceeds from illegal remote gambling offences and lying to get work passes for himself and his wife.

Authorities had seized more than S$5.9 million (US$4.4 million) from Su in the form of cash, vehicles, luxury items and liquor.

Su is a Cambodian national whose passport states that he is from Fujian, China.

Wang, a Chinese national, was sentenced on Apr 16 after pleading guilty to one charge each of possessing almost S$600,000 in illegal proceeds in his wife’s bank account and for laundering another S$1.48 million to buy a luxury Park Nova apartment in Tomlinson Road.

Six other charges were considered in sentencing.

More than S$8 million in assets belonging to Wang – in cash, vehicles, property and collectible items – were seized. These include his assets under his wife’s name.

It was previously reported that Wang held Chinese and Vanuatu passports and had no employment in Singapore.

ICA did not explain why Su and Wang were deported to Cambodia, but it previously said the location of deportation is dependent on the “admissibility of the foreigner based on his/her valid passport”.

Su and Wang were two of 10 people arrested in an islandwide police operation in August 2023 after police were tipped off about possible illicit activities by a group of foreign nationals.

More than S$3 billion in assets have been seized or frozen in relation to the case. This likely makes it one of the largest money laundering operations in the world.

Besides Su and Wang, three others have been sentenced in the case.