CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M
S’poreans who helped set up firms linked to $2.8b money laundering case removing their names
He added that his firm has been cooperating with the authorities since September to conduct audits and inspections.
“We assisted them in a couple of ways – first, to provide personal documents of the directors or shareholders of the company they are looking into,” said Mr Lim, adding that Grof also provided documents to demonstrate its risk assessment processes.
He said Acra inspected Grof’s entire onboarding suite, and the firm’s client monitoring system.
The role played by filing agents in registering firms has come under the spotlight amid the probe.
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They also opened Singapore bank accounts, which were used to launder more than US$36 million (S$49.4 million) from victims of scams.
The 12 individuals had taken advantage of rules that allowed the registration processes to open bank accounts to be conducted remotely during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The anti-money laundering operation on Aug 15 involved more than 400 police officers and saw raids at properties in areas such as Tanglin, Bukit Timah, Orchard Road, Sentosa and River Valley. Ten foreigners, all originally from China, were charged the next day with offences including money laundering, forgery and resisting arrest.
It is Singapore’s worst money laundering case and one of the world’s largest.
They were previously listed as directors, secretaries or shareholders of companies set up by several of the foreigners nabbed in the Aug 15 anti-money laundering blitz.
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Andrew Wong and Nadine Chua
SINGAPORE – A number of Singaporeans who helped set up firms for individuals linked to the $2.8 billion money laundering case have started removing their names from the companies, amid an investigation by the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (Acra).
They were previously listed as directors, secretaries or shareholders of companies set up by several of the foreigners nabbed in the Aug 15 anti-money laundering blitz.
In total, the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) arrested nine men and one woman.
The Singaporeans were also listed in firms incorporated by associates of those arrested, including the wives of some of the accused.
Acra confirmed with The Straits Times that it has contacted a number of corporate service providers (CSPs) in an ongoing probe relating to the money laundering case.
Foreigners are required to engage a registered filing agent, including CSPs, to incorporate a company in Singapore.
They must also appoint at least one director who is living in Singapore. He can be a citizen, permanent resident, or entrepreneur pass or employment pass holder
Corporate service provider Grof, formerly named Sprout, said it commenced termination of services with several companies on Aug 24. The exercise was completed by early September.
Mr Jackson Lim, co-founder of Grof, said fewer than five companies were involved, but declined to provide the exact number.
“When the news broke, we did our internal checks to see if we had any clients that were related to the 10 accused,” said Mr Lim, who ST learnt was registered as secretary or director of about 1,400 live companies.
He said he found his name listed as secretary or director of firms linked to three associates of the accused persons.
ST had earlier reported the names of 24 people linked to the 10 accused. They were on a list the Ministry of Law (MinLaw) sent to traders of precious metals and stones, to flag for suspicious transactions.
“When The Straits Times published the names of the associates, we used it in collaboration with our internal checks, which was very helpful,” said Mr Lim.
Andrew Wong and Nadine Chua
SINGAPORE – A number of Singaporeans who helped set up firms for individuals linked to the $2.8 billion money laundering case have started removing their names from the companies, amid an investigation by the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (Acra).
They were previously listed as directors, secretaries or shareholders of companies set up by several of the foreigners nabbed in the Aug 15 anti-money laundering blitz.
In total, the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) arrested nine men and one woman.
The Singaporeans were also listed in firms incorporated by associates of those arrested, including the wives of some of the accused.
Acra confirmed with The Straits Times that it has contacted a number of corporate service providers (CSPs) in an ongoing probe relating to the money laundering case.
Foreigners are required to engage a registered filing agent, including CSPs, to incorporate a company in Singapore.
They must also appoint at least one director who is living in Singapore. He can be a citizen, permanent resident, or entrepreneur pass or employment pass holder
Corporate service provider Grof, formerly named Sprout, said it commenced termination of services with several companies on Aug 24. The exercise was completed by early September.
Mr Jackson Lim, co-founder of Grof, said fewer than five companies were involved, but declined to provide the exact number.
“When the news broke, we did our internal checks to see if we had any clients that were related to the 10 accused,” said Mr Lim, who ST learnt was registered as secretary or director of about 1,400 live companies.
He said he found his name listed as secretary or director of firms linked to three associates of the accused persons.
ST had earlier reported the names of 24 people linked to the 10 accused. They were on a list the Ministry of Law (MinLaw) sent to traders of precious metals and stones, to flag for suspicious transactions.
“When The Straits Times published the names of the associates, we used it in collaboration with our internal checks, which was very helpful,” said Mr Lim.
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He added that his firm has been cooperating with the authorities since September to conduct audits and inspections.
“We assisted them in a couple of ways – first, to provide personal documents of the directors or shareholders of the company they are looking into,” said Mr Lim, adding that Grof also provided documents to demonstrate its risk assessment processes.
He said Acra inspected Grof’s entire onboarding suite, and the firm’s client monitoring system.
The role played by filing agents in registering firms has come under the spotlight amid the probe.
The 10 suspects are (clockwise from top left) Su Baolin, Su Haijin, Chen Qingyuan, Su Wenqiang, Lin Baoying, Zhang Ruijin, Wang Dehai, Su Jianfeng, Vang Shuiming and Wang Baosen.
ST ILLUSTRATIONS: CEL GULAPA
In court last Wednesday, prosecutors said one of the 10 accused, Su Jianfeng, had registered a firm which they alleged was a shell company. The firm, An Xing Technology, was purportedly an IT management consultancy business.
Su, 35, claimed he was the chief executive of the firm. But when questioned by the police, the Vanuatu national, who faces four money laundering charges, could not pinpoint his office address.
He is also listed as a director and shareholder in the firm.
In a ministerial statement on the ongoing money laundering investigation, Second Minister for Home Affairs Josephine Teo told Parliament on Oct 3 that several regulatory probes were under way, including by the authorities overseeing CSPs.
In a separate statement, Second Minister for Finance Indranee Rajah said Acra will introduce additional measures on errant CSPs in early 2024, and roll out possible restrictions on the number of directorships an individual can hold.
Links to accused
ST learnt that Serangoon resident Amy Chin helped register firms for at least three associates of the arrestees. Business records showed she is registered as a shareholder or director of more than 200 companies.
The associates include Ms Wu Qin, whose husband is Su Haijin, the accused who jumped from his residence in Ewart Park, in Bukit Timah, while allegedly trying to flee from the police. Ms Wu is named in the MinLaw list.
Ms Chin was previously listed as a director in Culbert Management, which was set up by Ms Wu. Mr Lim and another Singaporean – identified as J.J. in a previous report – were listed as company secretaries.
Ms Chin, who is also a Singaporean, is also listed as either a director or shareholder of companies set up by Ms Su Caihuang – the wife of accused Wang Dehai – and Wang Qiujiao, whose registered address is a condo unit at New Futura, the same unit which Chen Qingyuan bought in 2018.
In court last Wednesday, prosecutors said one of the 10 accused, Su Jianfeng, had registered a firm which they alleged was a shell company. The firm, An Xing Technology, was purportedly an IT management consultancy business.
Su, 35, claimed he was the chief executive of the firm. But when questioned by the police, the Vanuatu national, who faces four money laundering charges, could not pinpoint his office address.
He is also listed as a director and shareholder in the firm.
In a ministerial statement on the ongoing money laundering investigation, Second Minister for Home Affairs Josephine Teo told Parliament on Oct 3 that several regulatory probes were under way, including by the authorities overseeing CSPs.
In a separate statement, Second Minister for Finance Indranee Rajah said Acra will introduce additional measures on errant CSPs in early 2024, and roll out possible restrictions on the number of directorships an individual can hold.
Links to accused
ST learnt that Serangoon resident Amy Chin helped register firms for at least three associates of the arrestees. Business records showed she is registered as a shareholder or director of more than 200 companies.
The associates include Ms Wu Qin, whose husband is Su Haijin, the accused who jumped from his residence in Ewart Park, in Bukit Timah, while allegedly trying to flee from the police. Ms Wu is named in the MinLaw list.
Ms Chin was previously listed as a director in Culbert Management, which was set up by Ms Wu. Mr Lim and another Singaporean – identified as J.J. in a previous report – were listed as company secretaries.
Ms Chin, who is also a Singaporean, is also listed as either a director or shareholder of companies set up by Ms Su Caihuang – the wife of accused Wang Dehai – and Wang Qiujiao, whose registered address is a condo unit at New Futura, the same unit which Chen Qingyuan bought in 2018.
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Chen was among the 10 individuals arrested in the CAD operation, and Wang Qiujiao was named in MinLaw’s list.
Ms Chin said she had never met any of the individuals behind the companies, and added that she has no recollection of how she came to be associated with the companies.
“I didn’t do any checks on them. I just helped to set up their companies. I earned around $50 for each firm I helped set up. To me, it was good money,” she said, adding that most of the discussions were conducted over WhatsApp.
Ms Chin admitted she did not conduct any due diligence when she gave her details for the roles.
She said she was never involved in any of the operations, and was there only in name.
Ms Chin, who said she terminated her roles in the companies in late 2022, is currently working in an administrative role at a catering company. Business records show she is still a director in three companies in Singapore.
ST reported on Sept 3 that a Singaporean was listed as director, secretary and shareholder in 185 companies, including nine linked to three of the accused.
The resident of Bedok, who was identified in the report as J.J, runs a firm that provides secretarial services. He rejected calls from ST when contacted last Thursday.
Shell companies
Meanwhile, a number of Singaporeans have been convicted in court for their role in setting up shell companies, which were later used by scammers to steal money from victims based overseas.
They included an unemployed Singaporean who was fined $4,000 on Sept 27 for failing to exercise reasonable diligence in his role as director of 186 firms.
Er Beng Hwa, 49, was offered $50 a year for each firm incorporated in Singapore in which he was named the nominee director. He was also promised $50 each time he opened a bank account for the firms, and if he had to turn up to sign papers.
He was part of a probe that saw police arrest 12 individuals who had helped incorporate 35 local companies between July 2020 and February 2021.
Ms Chin said she had never met any of the individuals behind the companies, and added that she has no recollection of how she came to be associated with the companies.
“I didn’t do any checks on them. I just helped to set up their companies. I earned around $50 for each firm I helped set up. To me, it was good money,” she said, adding that most of the discussions were conducted over WhatsApp.
Ms Chin admitted she did not conduct any due diligence when she gave her details for the roles.
She said she was never involved in any of the operations, and was there only in name.
Ms Chin, who said she terminated her roles in the companies in late 2022, is currently working in an administrative role at a catering company. Business records show she is still a director in three companies in Singapore.
ST reported on Sept 3 that a Singaporean was listed as director, secretary and shareholder in 185 companies, including nine linked to three of the accused.
The resident of Bedok, who was identified in the report as J.J, runs a firm that provides secretarial services. He rejected calls from ST when contacted last Thursday.
Shell companies
Meanwhile, a number of Singaporeans have been convicted in court for their role in setting up shell companies, which were later used by scammers to steal money from victims based overseas.
They included an unemployed Singaporean who was fined $4,000 on Sept 27 for failing to exercise reasonable diligence in his role as director of 186 firms.
Er Beng Hwa, 49, was offered $50 a year for each firm incorporated in Singapore in which he was named the nominee director. He was also promised $50 each time he opened a bank account for the firms, and if he had to turn up to sign papers.
He was part of a probe that saw police arrest 12 individuals who had helped incorporate 35 local companies between July 2020 and February 2021.
Billion-dollar money laundering case: Charities urged to review donor records from Jan 2019
They also opened Singapore bank accounts, which were used to launder more than US$36 million (S$49.4 million) from victims of scams.
The 12 individuals had taken advantage of rules that allowed the registration processes to open bank accounts to be conducted remotely during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The anti-money laundering operation on Aug 15 involved more than 400 police officers and saw raids at properties in areas such as Tanglin, Bukit Timah, Orchard Road, Sentosa and River Valley. Ten foreigners, all originally from China, were charged the next day with offences including money laundering, forgery and resisting arrest.
It is Singapore’s worst money laundering case and one of the world’s largest.
The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority is currently working on amendments to the Companies Act and Acra Act.
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Mr Raymond Lam, chairman of the Chartered Secretaries Institute of Singapore, said the CSP landscape and money laundering trends are constantly evolving, which means the industry needs to be agile and nimble to cope with these changes.
“In my view, a limit on the number of nominee director appointments that an unregulated person can hold will raise the standards of the directors in Singapore generally and ensure that only qualified individuals can provide the nominee director service,” he said.
Acra rules show that a company director is responsible for managing the affairs of the company and setting its strategic direction, while a secretary is responsible for the administration of the firm.
A shareholder can be an individual, a company or a limited liability partnership.
Several CSPs that The Straits Times spoke to said it is important for checks and balances to be done, to ensure the legitimacy of the individual and the firm being set up.
Mr Robin Yoo, managing director of Agile 8, told ST that there have been instances of individuals e-mailing the CSP firm for assistance with employment passes, after setting up companies.
“When we asked them what their business model is and how they intend to fund it, they went silent.
“This then makes it obvious that obtaining employment passes was their main intention for setting up a company here,” said Mr Yoo.
This was allegedly the case with an individual linked to one of the 10 foreigners arrested in a $2.8 billion money laundering probe.
The wife of Wang Baosen, one of the accused, had set up a company in Singapore to secure an employment pass for herself.
In an affidavit to support the prosecution’s application that no bail be granted to Wang, a Commercial Affairs Department officer said He Huifang had claimed to be an investment consultant in the company.
Mr Yoo said that as Singapore welcomes more businesses, regulators recognise that there is a need to strengthen the regulatory and enforcement framework to manage anti-money laundering checks.
Acra is expected to table the Bill on amendments to the Company Act and Acra Act in 2024.
Among other things, it will propose additional measures for CSPs, including restrictions on the number of roles an individual can hold.
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Mr Victor Lai, principal consultant of CitadelCorp, said: “These (measures) will have the effect of raising the bar for people to act as nominee directors and secretaries of companies in Singapore.
“We expect that this will also consequently increase the standard of CSP firms.”
The task to weed out dubious actors and firms can be challenging.
CitadelCorp said it was approached by a group of companies, whose beneficial owner was based overseas, to provide secretarial services.
Although the group initially cleared anti-money laundering checks, CitadelCorp dug deeper and found adverse media reports that alleged the group was previously involved in financial crime and corruption in a foreign jurisdiction.
“We performed further investigations and discovered that the prospective client had succeeded in arranging for the removal of its name from subscription-based global compliance screening platforms,” said Mr Lai.
He added that a person or company can fight to refute any links to alleged criminal activity, and have their names removed from global compliance screening platforms.
This means the CSPs’ due diligence processes can become even more complex.
In September, ST reported that scammers had set up firms in Singapore and moved their ill-gotten gains here by exploiting rules that allowed registration processes to open bank accounts to be carried out remotely during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Twelve individuals were charged earlier in 2023 after they inadvertently helped scammers launder more than US$36 million (S$49 million) through Singapore bank accounts.
Investigations showed that between July 2020 and February 2021, foreign agents incorporated 35 local companies and opened Singapore bank accounts to launder these criminal proceeds.
The 12 individuals had acted as resident directors of these companies, or abetted the directors’ offences.
Said Mr Jackson Lim, co-founder of Grof: “If dubious actors can slip through checks by banks, what more smaller CSPs like us with limited resources?”
PHOTO: ST FILE
Andrew Wong and Nadine Chua
SINGAPORE - The number of nominee directorships that an individual can hold may soon be limited, as part of a review to ensure Singapore’s corporate regulatory environment remains robust.
The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (Acra) – the national regulator of business entities, public accountants and corporate service providers (CSPs) – is currently working on amendments to the Companies Act and Acra Act.
A number of Singapore residents, who were registered as a shareholder, director or secretary of firms set up by foreigners, have been accused of helping to set up shell companies that were used by scammers and money launderers.
Foreigners are required to engage a registered filing agent, including CSPs, to incorporate a company in Singapore.
They must also appoint at least one director who is living in Singapore. He can be a citizen, permanent resident, or entrepreneur pass or employment pass holder.
National University of Singapore business professor Lawrence Loh said changes to the law should be made in a well-calibrated manner.
“There should not be a blanket measure to punish all corporate service providers just because of an isolated incident such as the money laundering case.”
He said CSPs are necessary to help ease the process when someone wants to set up firms here.
“If Singapore wants to be the best place to do business, we need CSPs to help legitimate companies set foot here. Ultimately, these companies can create good jobs for Singaporeans and boost our economy.
“So it is important that measures put in place to tighten the regime do not affect our reputation for being business-friendly,” added Prof Loh.
Dr Ang Ser-Keng, the principal lecturer of finance at Singapore Management University’s business school, said multiple directorships can be a boon or bane.
“It can be a good thing if a director can, through multiple directorships, add value to all the firms from the breadth of knowledge and skills gained,” he said.
“The alternative hypothesis relates to busy directors who take on too many roles, leading to them not being able to deliver on their commitments.”
He added: “If we were to restrict directors from taking on multiple directorships, then the million-dollar question would be how many is too many?”
SINGAPORE - The number of nominee directorships that an individual can hold may soon be limited, as part of a review to ensure Singapore’s corporate regulatory environment remains robust.
The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (Acra) – the national regulator of business entities, public accountants and corporate service providers (CSPs) – is currently working on amendments to the Companies Act and Acra Act.
A number of Singapore residents, who were registered as a shareholder, director or secretary of firms set up by foreigners, have been accused of helping to set up shell companies that were used by scammers and money launderers.
Foreigners are required to engage a registered filing agent, including CSPs, to incorporate a company in Singapore.
They must also appoint at least one director who is living in Singapore. He can be a citizen, permanent resident, or entrepreneur pass or employment pass holder.
National University of Singapore business professor Lawrence Loh said changes to the law should be made in a well-calibrated manner.
“There should not be a blanket measure to punish all corporate service providers just because of an isolated incident such as the money laundering case.”
He said CSPs are necessary to help ease the process when someone wants to set up firms here.
“If Singapore wants to be the best place to do business, we need CSPs to help legitimate companies set foot here. Ultimately, these companies can create good jobs for Singaporeans and boost our economy.
“So it is important that measures put in place to tighten the regime do not affect our reputation for being business-friendly,” added Prof Loh.
Dr Ang Ser-Keng, the principal lecturer of finance at Singapore Management University’s business school, said multiple directorships can be a boon or bane.
“It can be a good thing if a director can, through multiple directorships, add value to all the firms from the breadth of knowledge and skills gained,” he said.
“The alternative hypothesis relates to busy directors who take on too many roles, leading to them not being able to deliver on their commitments.”
He added: “If we were to restrict directors from taking on multiple directorships, then the million-dollar question would be how many is too many?”
S’poreans who helped set up firms linked to $2.8b money laundering case removing their names
$2.8b money laundering accused is IT company CEO but does not know where office is: DPP
Mr Raymond Lam, chairman of the Chartered Secretaries Institute of Singapore, said the CSP landscape and money laundering trends are constantly evolving, which means the industry needs to be agile and nimble to cope with these changes.
“In my view, a limit on the number of nominee director appointments that an unregulated person can hold will raise the standards of the directors in Singapore generally and ensure that only qualified individuals can provide the nominee director service,” he said.
Acra rules show that a company director is responsible for managing the affairs of the company and setting its strategic direction, while a secretary is responsible for the administration of the firm.
A shareholder can be an individual, a company or a limited liability partnership.
Several CSPs that The Straits Times spoke to said it is important for checks and balances to be done, to ensure the legitimacy of the individual and the firm being set up.
Mr Robin Yoo, managing director of Agile 8, told ST that there have been instances of individuals e-mailing the CSP firm for assistance with employment passes, after setting up companies.
“When we asked them what their business model is and how they intend to fund it, they went silent.
“This then makes it obvious that obtaining employment passes was their main intention for setting up a company here,” said Mr Yoo.
This was allegedly the case with an individual linked to one of the 10 foreigners arrested in a $2.8 billion money laundering probe.
The wife of Wang Baosen, one of the accused, had set up a company in Singapore to secure an employment pass for herself.
In an affidavit to support the prosecution’s application that no bail be granted to Wang, a Commercial Affairs Department officer said He Huifang had claimed to be an investment consultant in the company.
Mr Yoo said that as Singapore welcomes more businesses, regulators recognise that there is a need to strengthen the regulatory and enforcement framework to manage anti-money laundering checks.
Acra is expected to table the Bill on amendments to the Company Act and Acra Act in 2024.
Among other things, it will propose additional measures for CSPs, including restrictions on the number of roles an individual can hold.
Money laundering case: Bedok resident has role in 185 companies, including 9 linked to suspects
Money laundering case: Woman lived with lover, not daughter; S'pore roots overstated, says DPP
Mr Victor Lai, principal consultant of CitadelCorp, said: “These (measures) will have the effect of raising the bar for people to act as nominee directors and secretaries of companies in Singapore.
“We expect that this will also consequently increase the standard of CSP firms.”
The task to weed out dubious actors and firms can be challenging.
CitadelCorp said it was approached by a group of companies, whose beneficial owner was based overseas, to provide secretarial services.
Although the group initially cleared anti-money laundering checks, CitadelCorp dug deeper and found adverse media reports that alleged the group was previously involved in financial crime and corruption in a foreign jurisdiction.
“We performed further investigations and discovered that the prospective client had succeeded in arranging for the removal of its name from subscription-based global compliance screening platforms,” said Mr Lai.
He added that a person or company can fight to refute any links to alleged criminal activity, and have their names removed from global compliance screening platforms.
This means the CSPs’ due diligence processes can become even more complex.
In September, ST reported that scammers had set up firms in Singapore and moved their ill-gotten gains here by exploiting rules that allowed registration processes to open bank accounts to be carried out remotely during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Twelve individuals were charged earlier in 2023 after they inadvertently helped scammers launder more than US$36 million (S$49 million) through Singapore bank accounts.
Investigations showed that between July 2020 and February 2021, foreign agents incorporated 35 local companies and opened Singapore bank accounts to launder these criminal proceeds.
The 12 individuals had acted as resident directors of these companies, or abetted the directors’ offences.
Said Mr Jackson Lim, co-founder of Grof: “If dubious actors can slip through checks by banks, what more smaller CSPs like us with limited resources?”
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