SINGAPORE: Singapore police have seized about S$1bn ($735m; £578m) – including cash, cars and luxury homes – in one of its biggest anti-money laundering probes.
High-end cars, $17m (£13.3m) in cash, designer handbags and luxury homes were among the items seized by police in the raids. In the operation, the police also arrested 10 people, all of whom held foreign passports.
The police said the group was “suspected to be involved in laundering the proceeds of crime from their overseas organised crime activities including scams and online gambling.”
With one of the lowest crime rates in the world, raids of this size are rare in this city-state. The Singapore Police Force, in a statement, said that simultaneous raids were carried out across the country on Tuesday.
It further said that 94 homes, including those in some of the country’s most sought-after areas, were seized, besides 50 vehicles. According to police, the cash seized was in Singapore bank notes and other currencies.
As many as 10 people, aged between 31 and 44, have been arrested for alleged money-laundering and forgery offences. Those arrested had passports from China, Vanuatu, Cambodia and Turkey, said the police.
“We have zero tolerance for the use of Singapore as a safe haven for criminals,” said David Chew, director of the police’s Commercial Affairs Department, which investigates white-collar crime.
“Our message to these criminals is simple – if we catch you, we will arrest you. If we find your ill-gotten gains, we will seize them. We will deal with you to the fullest extent of our laws,” he added.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore – the country’s central bank and financial regulator – said they had been in contact with the financial institutions “where the potentially tainted funds have been identified”.
The regulator further said it would take “firm action” against institutions which didn’t comply with official anti-money laundering requirements.
