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

On 30 April 2024, Zhang Ruijin ("Zhang"), a 45-year-old Chinese national, was convicted and sentenced to 15 months' imprisonment for two counts of fraudulently using a forged document, an offence under Section 471 read with Section 465 of the Penal Code ("the Penal Code"), and one count of money laundering under Section 47AA of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act ("CDSA"). An additional five charges were taken into consideration for sentencing.

Zhang 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 into Singapore. During his arrest, Zhang 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$131 million worth of assets in relation to Zhang, including cash, three vehicles and five properties. The State Court has also ordered the forfeiture of about S$118 million (about 90 per cent) of the assets to the State.

Background of the case

Investigations revealed that Zhang owned businesses in the People's Republic of China ("PRC"), and had instructed for the creation of falsified books of accounts in relation to his business. He also procured forged documents to move funds from the PRC to Singapore, to conceal the source and provenance of the funds.

Between July 2020 and October 2020, Zhang had procured and submitted a forged loan document and a forged property sale contract to his relationship manager at CIMB Bank Berhad ("CIMB") in response to the bank's queries about deposits amounting to a total sum of HKD 145,679,100 which were credited into his CIMB account.

Zhang was also unable to provide a satisfactory explanation as to how he came by a sum of HKD 7,500,000 deposited in his CIMB bank account. Although he claimed that the funds were legitimately derived from, among others, profits from his companies overseas, he was not able to substantiate his claims with any documentary evidence.

Zhang was charged with the following offences:

1. Four counts of fraudulently using as genuine a document which he knew to be a forged document under the Penal Code; and
   
   
2. Four counts of money laundering offences under the CDSA.

Any person who is 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 47AA 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.

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

Four 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; and Su Baolin, a 42-year-old Cambodian national, were convicted and sentenced for money laundering offences earlier this month. Annex A sets out the sentencing outcomes of the five accused persons who have been convicted and sentenced so far in relation to this case.

Court proceedings for the remaining five 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 five accused persons

Annex B - List of current charges against remaining five accused persons