Money laundering case - Police incur almost $650,000 in upkeep of assets seized

Almost $650,000 has been spent by the authorities for the upkeep of assets seized in relation to Singapore's largest money laundering case.

- David Sun

On May 7, Minister for Home Affairs K. Shanmugam said the expenses were incurred for the storage, maintenance and safeguarding of the seized assets, which included properties, vehicles and luxury goods such as branded bags, watches and alcohol.

He said expenses included engaging specialised services from industry partners or service providers to oversee the handling, upkeep and value preservation of the assets.

He said: "As of March 2024, police have incurred about $646,282 in such expenses.

These expenses are borne by the state. They are covered by the forfeited cash, and the proceeds of sale of the forfeited non-cash assets, which are channelled to the state." Mr Shanmugam was replying to a parliamentary question by Mr Saktiandi Supaat (Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC) about what expenses had been incurred in preserving the assets seized and how these expenses would be covered.

So far, more than $3 billion in assets have been seized.

These included 207 properties, 77 vehicles, more than $1.45 billion in bank accounts, more than $76 million in cash of various currencies, thousands of bottles of liquor and wine, cryptocurrency worth more than $38 million, 68 gold bars, 483 luxury bags, 169 branded watches and 580 pieces of jewellery.