Seventh Man Sentenced For Forgery And Money Laundering Offences In Anti-Money Laundering Probe

On 23 May 2024, Chen Qingyuan (“Chen”), a 34-year-old Cambodian national, was convicted and sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment for one count of fraudulently using a forged document, an offence under Section 471 read with Section 465 and Section 109 of the Penal Code (“the Penal Code”) and two counts of money laundering under Section 55 of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act (“CDSA”). An additional seven charges were taken into consideration for sentencing.

Chen was one of the 10 foreign nationals arrested on 15 August 2023, during a large scale, island-wide raid conducted by Police in relation to its investigations into a group of foreign nationals suspected of laundering the proceeds of their overseas organised crime activities in Singapore. During his arrest, Chen was found in possession of cash and other assets which were suspected to be proceeds from his criminal conduct.

The Police subsequently seized and prohibited disposal of about S$23.5 million worth of assets in relation to Chen, his girlfriend, and their companies. The State Court has ordered the forfeiture of about S$21.3 million (about 91 per cent) of the assets to the State.

Background of the case

Investigations revealed that between 2021 and 2022, Chen conspired with his girlfriend, Wang Qiujiao (“Wang”) to provide Standard Chartered Bank with forged documents in response to the bank’s queries on incoming payments into Wang’s bank account. To substantiate that these payments were derived from Wang’s wealth, Chen corresponded with a user named “Yin Hang Liu Shui Dian Hua” on the WeChat application to instruct the latter to create a forged electronic copy of an income certificate, which stated that Wang had received a salary of RMB 800,000 during the course of her employment with a People’s Republic of China-incorporated company named Sunshine Coast, even though Wang was never employed by the said company.

Investigations also revealed that Chen was involved in remote gambling offences overseas and had transferred proceeds from those offences into Singapore. He was unable to provide a satisfactory explanation for how he came to possess cash amounting to about S$614,750.90, and a white Range Rover valued at about S$1,008,000. Chen claimed that these assets were derived from legitimate sources of income such as the repayment of loans, proceeds from his businesses, and the sale of online gaming items. However, he was unable to substantiate these claims with details or evidence.

Chen was charged with the following offences:

Four counts of money laundering offences under Section 55 of the CDSA;
Two counts of abetment of forgery for the purposes of cheating under Section 468 read with Section 109 of the Penal Code;
Two counts of abetment of use of using as genuine a forged electronic record under Section 471 Penal Code punishable under Section 465 read with Section 109 Penal Code; and
Two counts of abetment of forgery under Section 465 Penal Code read with Section 109 of the Penal Code.

Any person convicted of an offence under Section 55 of the CDSA may be punished with a fine of up to S$150,000 or with imprisonment for a term of up to 3 years, or with both. Any person convicted of an offence under Section 468 of the Penal Code may be punished with imprisonment for a term of up to 10 years and shall also be liable to fine. Any person convicted of an offence under Section 471 read with Section 465 of the Penal Code may be punished with imprisonment for a term of up to 4 years, or with fine, or with both. Any person convicted of an offence under Section 465 of the Penal Code may be punished with imprisonment for a term of up to 4 years, or with fine, or with both.

The Police take a serious stance against any person who may be involved in money laundering and deception using forged documents that compromises the integrity of Singapore’s financial system. We will continue to take tough enforcement actions against perpetrators, who will be dealt with in accordance with the law.

Related cases

Six of the accused persons arrested during the same raid, Su Wenqiang, a 32-year-old Cambodian national; Su Haijin, a 41-year old Cypriot national; Wang Baosen, a 32-year old Chinese national; Su Baolin, a 42-year-old Cambodian national, Zhang Ruijin, a 45 year-old Chinese national and Vang Shuiming, a 43-year-old Turkish national, have been convicted and sentenced for money laundering offences. Annex A sets out the sentencing outcomes of the seven accused persons who have been convicted and sentenced so far in relation to this case.

Court proceedings for the remaining three accused persons related to the case are ongoing. Annex B sets out the offences which they have currently been charged with. Their assets, along with those of other persons linked to the case, will remain seized and prohibited until the State Courts have dealt with their cases.

Annex A – Sentencing outcomes of seven accused persons

SN	Name	Sentencing outcomes
1	Su Wenqiang	Convicted and sentenced to 13 months’ imprisonment for two counts of money laundering under Section 54(1) of the CDSA. 100 per cent forfeiture of seized assets (amounting to around S$6 million) to the State.
2	Su Haijin	Convicted and sentenced to 14 months’ imprisonment for one count of resistance to lawful apprehension under Section 225B of the Penal Code and two counts of money laundering under Section 55 of the CDSA. About 95 per cent forfeiture of seized/prohibited assets (amounting to more than S$165 million) to the State.
3	Wang Baosen	Convicted and sentenced to 13 months’ imprisonment for two counts of money laundering under Section 55 of the CDSA. 100 per cent forfeiture of seized/prohibited assets (amounting to about S$8 million) to the State.
4	Su Baolin	Convicted and sentenced to 14 months’ imprisonment for one count of abetting another to make false representations under Section 424A read with Section 109 of the Penal Code and two counts of money laundering under Section 55 of the CDSA. About 90 per cent forfeiture of seized/prohibited assets (amounting to around S$65 million) to the State.
5	Zhang Ruijin	Convicted and sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment for two counts of fraudulently using a forged document under Section 471 read with Section 465 of the Penal Code and one count of money laundering under Section 47AA of the CDSA. About 90 per cent forfeiture of seized/prohibited assets (amounting to about S$118 million) to the State.
6	Vang Shuiming	Convicted and sentenced to 13 months and six weeks’ imprisonment for one count of fraudulently using a forged document under Section 471 read with Section 465 of the Penal Code and two counts of money laundering under Section 55 of the CDSA. About 90 per cent forfeiture of seized/prohibited assets (amounting to about S$179 million) to the State.
7	Chen Qingyuan	Convicted and sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment for one count of fraudulently using a forged document under Section 471 read with Section 465 and Section 109 of the Penal Code and two counts of money laundering under Section 55 of the CDSA. About 91 per cent forfeiture of seized/prohibited assets (amounting to about S$21.3 million) to the State.

Annex B – List of current charges against remaining three accused persons

SN	Name	Details of offences
1	Lin Baoying (10 charges)	Four counts of Section 471 Penal Code read with Section 465 Penal Code for offences of using as genuine forged documents; One count of Section 204A Penal Code for an offence of perverting the course of justice; and One count of Section 468 Penal Code read with Section 109 Penal Code for offence of abetting others to committing forgery for the purpose of cheating. Four counts of Section 47AA(1) CDSA for offences of money laundering.
2	Su Jianfeng (12 charges)	Four counts of Section 54(1)(c) CDSA for offences of money laundering; and Eight counts of Section 468 Penal Code read with Section 471 Penal Code for offences of using forged documents for the purpose of cheating.
3	Wang Dehai (2 charges)	One count of Section 54(1)(c) CDSA and one count of Section 47(1)(b) CDSA for offences of money laundering.

PUBLIC AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
23 May 2024 @ 11:30 AM