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11 new charges for money laundering accused who allegedly gave forged statements to UOB Kay Hian

2024-01-31 00:00:00.0 海峡时报-新加坡原网页

SINGAPORE – Vang Shuiming, one of the 10 accused in Singapore’s largest money laundering case, was handed 11 more charges on Jan 31.

Vang, 42, also known as Wang Shuiming, allegedly submitted forged financial statements from three companies – Xiamen Mingxin Guarantee, Xiamen Yetian Trading, and Xiamen Likanghang Trading – to UOB Kay Hian on June 28, 2022 as supporting documentation.

The financial statements were from 2015 to 2021.

His new charges do not elaborate on what the fake financial statements were for.

Vang, who is listed as a Turkish national in his charge sheets, now faces 16 charges in total.

During the Jan 31 hearing, Vang’s lawyer, Mr Andrew Chua from Drew & Napier, asked to speak to his client for five to 10 minutes over video-link. District Judge Brenda Tan granted his request.

When Mr Chua asked if Vang will face more charges, the police prosecutor said he did not have the information.

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Vang was among nine men and one woman arrested by the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) on Aug 15 and charged the next day. The value of assets seized or frozen by the authorities now stands at over $3 billion.

According to past court hearings, cryptocurrency worth more than $3.8 million was withdrawn from Vang’s Binance account on Aug 17. The CAD did not know about these assets until it was told by the foreign authorities.

Vang was previously charged with one count of using a forged document and four counts of money laundering.

He had allegedly submitted a forged bank statement to Citibank Singapore in March 2021 as supporting documentation.

The money laundering charges relate to about $2.4 million held in four bank accounts. The sums are purportedly benefits from an unlicensed moneylending business in China.

Vang’s brother, Wang Shuiting, is one of eight fugitives wanted by the Singapore police in connection with the case. The two brothers are on China’s wanted list for illegal gambling activities.

High Court judge Vincent Hoong had refused bail for Vang on Oct 12, 2023, saying his offer to be placed under 24-hour surveillance did not satisfactorily address the significant flight risk he posed.

Judge Hoong added that Vang had obtained passports from Turkey, Vanuatu and Cambodia by making donations and financial contributions to those countries.

This amplifies the risk of Vang being able to abscond, whether by using the Cambodian passport – which, at the time, had not been found – or by procuring a new passport through similar methods, the judge said.

Deputy Public Prosecutor David Koh mentioned in a previous hearing that assets worth more than $240 million in the name of Vang and his wife had been seized or subject to prohibition orders in Singapore.