Zhang Ruisheng, 54, was sentenced to 12 months in prison on Monday for his involvement in Singapore’s SGD3-billion money laundering case which was uncovered in 2023, according to Channel News Asia.
He was convicted for possessing more than SGD17 million in criminal proceeds. He agreed to forfeit the bungalow at 69 Cove Drive, Sentosa, to the state, among other assets, which include the Toyota Vellfire, a luxury multipurpose vehicle valued at around SGD400,000.
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A bungalow at 69 Cove Drive, Sentosa, Singapore. Photo via Google Maps |
Ruisheng, a Chinese national, was living in Singapore on a work pass and employed by Golden Eagle Family Office as an “employment adviser”.
The company’s directors were his younger brother Ruijin and Ruijin’s wife, Lin Baoying. Court documents reviewed by AsiaOne showed that Ruisheng received about SGD17.6 million in his account through 11 transfers between August and September 2020.
He claimed the money came from the sale of a Macau property to Beiyin Limited for HKD87.7 million ($11.2 million). To substantiate the transaction, he submitted a forged sale and purchase agreement dated Aug. 8, 2020, to lender CIMB.
He also provided a fake loan agreement dated March 23, 2020, between himself and Han Li Limited to support his claim that he had extended a personal loan of nearly SGD6 million to the company.
Ruisheng subsequently used money from the CIMB account to buy his Sentosa home.
CIMB closed the account in December 2020. Before its closure, however, Ruisheng withdrew the remaining SGD5 million, which he used as a deposit for another Sentosa Cove property held in a third brother’s name, The Straits Times reported.
Ruijin and Lin were each sentenced to 15 months in prison and deported to Cambodia in June 2024 after serving their sentences.
Regarding the SGD3-billion case, Singapore authorities have seized more than 200 properties in prime locations, including Orchard Road and Sentosa.
Assets forfeited by the 10 convicted offenders totaled about SGD1 billion. The remaining SGD2 billion was linked to 17 suspects on the run, including spouses of some of those arrested.