Suspected money launderer Su Baolin allegedly involved in illegal gambling websites in Myanmar

Su Baolin, a suspected money launderer, is charged in an affidavit by Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) officer Louis Tey Jijie of operating illegal gaming websites in Myanmar and earning $5 million to $6 million from these sites between 2020 and 2022.

According to the CAD officer, Su supported the operation of these sites between 2019 and 2023, with a focus on users in Brazil and China. Notably, this is the first time that the police have linked any of the ten people detained in August during an anti-money laundering investigation that turned up $2.8 billion in cash and assets. Myanmar gambling sites were included in the investigation.

Su is charged with document falsification and conspiring to provide false documentation with the intention of misleading Standard Chartered Bank. The report also said that in October 2021, CAD started investigating Wang Qiming, a former Citibank employee, for potential charges linked to forgeries, leading to his arrest. Wang, on the other hand, has been freed on bond since November 16, 2021.

The Singaporean government said in October 2023 that money laundering investigations were initiated as a result of the use of falsified documentation to confirm the source of monies in bank accounts in Singapore. Su is said to have continued her illegal activities even after being asked to appear in person to answer questions about suspected forgeries in 2021.

According to CAD Officer Louis Tey, Su poses a flight risk since he may be able to flee if given free rein and may have undeclared assets overseas. Tey claims that Su has been ordering “Person A,” who is allegedly stationed in Dubai, to move cryptocurrencies worth more than $5 million into many wallets. Furthermore, it seems that Su’s partner, identified as “Person B,” helped convert the bitcoin into actual currency or made payments for Su in Singapore, raising suspicions about dubious financial activities.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Ng Jean Ting said at the December 15 hearing that Su may be charged with further crimes including forgery, account falsification, and money laundering. Tey’s confession included studies into Su’s firm, Xinbao Investment Holdings, which revealed probable falsification to depict the business as thriving, as well as instances of fictitious paperwork Su had provided banks to explain his financial status.

Sunil Sudheesan, Su’s defense lawyer, pleaded for his client’s release on bail, claiming Changi Prison cannot provide for Su’s medical requirements. Su allegedly delayed having a gastroscopy for more than three months despite having congenital heart disease and being at a significant risk of acquiring stomach cancer. The Singapore Prison Service, according to the defense, is “gambling with the accused person’s life.”

DPP Ng claims that while Su is at danger of developing stomach cancer, the disease is not yet at an advanced stage. She also referenced an affidavit from SPS’s chief medical officer, which said that Su’s oxygen saturation level was still above 85%, meaning she didn’t need oxygen treatment.

The defense further minimized the gravity of Su’s alleged misdeeds by claiming that investigations conducted since 2021 have shown that only around $4.7 million of the $90 million that Su and his wife had misappropriated originated from illicit sources. DPP Ng said that the CAD is looking into the confiscated items right now.

District Judge Brenda Tan ultimately refused Su’s bail, citing concerns about his possible departure and possible assistance with another defendant in the money laundering case. She underlined that Su’s situation did not justify his release and expressed her pleasure with the Singapore Prison Service’s capacity to handle his medical requirements in a secure way.

Original story by: The Strait Times