SINGAPORE: One of the ten foreign nationals arrested in connection to Singapore’s largest money-laundering case has been slapped with 111 additional charges in connection to forged documents handed into brokerage firm UOB Kay Hian.
Forty-three-year-old Vang Shuiming, who is also known as Wang Shuiming, was charged with the fraudulent use of forged financial documents on Jan 31 (Wednesday).
He submitted the documents for the financial years between 2015 and 2021 to UOB Kay Hian on June 28, 2022, for the following companies: Xiamen Likhanghang Trading Co, Xiamen Yetian Trading Co, and Xiamen Mingxin Guarantee Co.
Vang is one of the wealthiest among the nine men and one woman arrested in connection to the case in August of last year.
The assets seized in the money laundering case reached S$3 billion as of January 2024, when the police seized the luxury items, properties, and vehicles of two additional suspects, both of whom are foreign nationals and are currently at large.
Vang Shuiming, who is listed as a Turkish citizen but who also carries passports from China and Vanuatu, was once listed as a shareholder of Golden WHH, an investment holding company.
He was originally slapped with four money laundering charges and one forgery charge and now faces 16 charges in all. This includes a charge for possession of S$2.4 million in criminal benefits from unlicensed moneylenders in China.
Authorities have since seized over S$200 million from Vang and his wife. During the time he has been in custody, over S$3.8 million in cryptocurrencies were withdrawn from his account.
Among the 10 individuals arrested, Vang has tried to make bail the most times, even reaching the High Court. None of these endeavors have been successful so far, reported CNA.
On Feb 1, he goes back to court for a pre-trial conference.
In August of last year, police rounded up 10 Chinese-born nationals holding various foreign passports, nine men and one woman, connected to the case. The case has made the headlines across the globe, in large part due to the size of the funds and assets seized.
Aside from Vang, the other suspects rounded up were Su Baolin, Su Haijin, Chen Qingyuan, Su Wenqiang, Lin Baoying, Zhang Ruijin, Wang Dehai, Su Jianfeng, and Wang Baosen.
The case caused the country’s financial institutions to tighten policies. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said in an emailed statement the following month that it looked into whether banks took every reasonable step to diminish the risks.
The two additional suspects identified in the case are Su Yongcan, 33, and Wang Huoqiang, 29, both of whom are Cambodian nationals who previously held a passport issued by the People’s Republic of China (PRC). /TISG