SINGAPORE: A Singapore permanent resident originally from China helped launder more than S$450,000 (US$333,360) in investment scam proceeds from victims in Taiwan and Singapore through Singapore to bank accounts in China.
He also ran an illegal money remittance business, remitting a total of about S$2.9 million from Singapore to China.
For his acts, 40-year-old Sun Weitao was sentenced to two years, five months and eight weeks’ jail and a fine of S$27,000.
He had contested five money-laundering charges under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act but was convicted of them, and pleaded guilty to a sixth charge of conspiring to carry out a remittance business without a licence.
According to the prosecution’s case at trial, Sun and his friend Wei Hong Tao, a 55-year-old Singapore permanent resident from China, entered into an arrangement in November 2017 with a “shadowy individual” known as Zhong Wen Liang.
Wei had received a call from Zhong, a friend of more than 10 years, who offered a money-making opportunity to Wei.
Zhong claimed that his friend was selling health products and tea overseas and needed a corporate bank account in Singapore to collect payment, before transferring it to bank accounts in China.
When Wei asked why Zhong’s friend could not transfer the money directly, Zhong said it was because of currency controls, court documents stated.
Wei did not have a corporate account, so he contacted Sun and shared the opportunity. They were to receive 2 per cent of the money received as commission.
Under the arrangement, Sun was to set up Singapore corporate bank accounts under the name of his Singapore company, Sun Sky International, which Sun was the sole director and owner of.
Wei would then provide remittance slips of purported customers who had transferred foreign currencies into the corporate bank accounts, and Sun would take a cut of the money before transferring it to bank accounts in China for the benefit of Zhong.
In this way, Sun and Wei helped Zhong retain criminal proceeds from at least five victims of cheating in Taiwan in Singapore, according to the prosecution’s case.
“From the start of this arrangement, the accused had reasonable grounds to believe Zhong had engaged in criminal conduct, namely tax evasion, and that these monies were the benefits of such criminal conduct,” said Deputy Public Prosecutors Gail Wong, Ang Siok Chen and Kiera Yu.
In total, Sun and Wei received illegal criminal proceeds of US$331,822 and S$4,250 in Sun’s corporate banking accounts, for a total of more than S$450,000.
After deducting their own cuts and administrative fees, Sun then transferred the remaining money to bank accounts in China for Zhong’s benefit, the prosecution said.
During the trial, Taiwanese victims testified remotely, with the assistance of Taiwanese authorities.
They described how they had been deceived by individuals they met online into handing over cash for spot trading or investments in gold or crude oil. They lodged police reports in Taiwan after discovering they had been scammed.
Wei, who had pleaded guilty earlier and was sentenced to two years and eight weeks’ jail and a fine of S$70,000, also testified for the prosecution.
At trial, the defence argued that the money did not flow from fraud committed in Taiwan, and that there was no proof that Zhong had engaged in criminal conduct.
Mr Andre Jumabhoy argued that his client believed he was running a legitimate business with Wei, remitting money to suppliers in China.
He said Sun was simply taking instructions from Wei, who was the main operator and the only one who had any information about Zhong.
Mr Jumabhoy said his client believed that Zhong was merely trying to reduce the amount of tax he had to pay when remitting foreign currencies into China, and that this was a legal business strategy.
Separately, Sun admitted to running an illegal money remittance business. Between December 2017 and November 2018, he and Wei used Sun Sky International’s corporate accounts in Singapore to receive about US$1.5 million (S$2 million) and S$941,000 to transmit to bank accounts in China.
The prosecution sought jail of 31 months and eight weeks for Sun, and a fine of at least S$27,000.
They said none of the laundered proceeds had been recovered for the victims, except S$30,000 from Wei.
There was a transnational element to the offences, with the sums transferred into and out of Singapore facilitating the passing of criminal proceeds from victims of investment scams in Taiwan and Singapore to China, said the prosecution.