On the first anniversary of the arrests of 10 foreigners in Singapore’s largest money laundering case, the first Singaporean linked to the crimes was hauled to court.
Liew Yik Kit, 41, was the personal driver to Cambodian national Su Binghai – who fled during the probe and is wanted for his involvement in alleged money laundering offences.
Liew was handed two charges today, August 15 – one for lying to the police, and another for obstructing the course of justice.
He had allegedly lied to police that Su did not leave any valuables in his possession, when he actually had the businessman’s four luxury cars – a Rolls-Royce Phantom, a Rolls-Royce Cullinan, a Ferrari F8 Spider and a Ferrari Stradale.
The former driver then purportedly disposed of the four cars at the multi-storey carpark at Block 20 Upper Boon Keng Road, between September 11, 2023 and October 5, 2023.
This alleged act caused the police to miss out on seizing the four vehicles and obstructed the course of justice.
Company records show Liew was the authorised representative of a car rental company, Quality Limo Services. The firm is no longer in operation.
Liew, who has yet to engage a lawyer, asked the court for time to consider his plea and seek legal advice. He was granted bail of $15,000.
Two former relationship managers at banks were charged on August 15. Liu Kai, 35, a former manager at Julius Baer, faces charges for abetting Lin Baoying, the only woman convicted in a money laundering case, to use a forged tax document in November 2020 to open a bank account in Switzerland. 
Wang Qiming, 26, a former Citibank manager, was handed 10 charges, including forgery and money laundering, involving two convicted money launderers, Su Baolin and Vang Shuiming. 
On August 15, 2023, over 400 police officers conducted simultaneous raids on luxury housing estates across Singapore, leading to the arrest of 10 foreign nationals. 
The operation resulted in the seizure or restriction of disposal on approximately $3 billion worth of cash and assets, including jewelry, watches, cars and alcohol. 
The nine men and one woman convicted in the case agreed to forfeit more than $900 million in cash and assets as part of their plea agreements. 
The investigation also uncovered additional assets linked to 17 other suspects who had fled Singapore.
In January 2024, arrest warrants and Interpol red notices were issued for two suspects, Cambodian nationals Su Yongcan, 33, and Wang Huoqiang, 29. 
The 10 convicted individuals received prison sentences ranging from 13 to 17 months and were subsequently deported and banned from re-entering Singapore. 
Su Wenqiang, Wang Baosen, Su Baolin, Su Haijin, Chen Qingyuan, Zhang Ruijin, Lin Baoying and Su Jianfeng were deported to Cambodia. 
Vang Shuiming was sent back to Japan, and Wang Dehai was deported to Britain.
Asia News Network (ANN)/The Straits Times