Two suspects spent $70m on UK properties while on the run

$3b money laundering case

- Andrew Wong Correspondent

The properties include units in a development (left) near London's major shopping belt and luxury homes in another London building. PHOTOS: THE ORGANISED CRIME AND CORRUPTION REPORTING PROJECT

(THE ORGANISED CRIME AND CORRUPTION REPORTING PROJECT)

Two suspects linked to the $3 billion money laundering case spent more than $69.8 million on properties in London while on the run from the authorities in Singapore.

The Sunday Times, working with investigative reporting group Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), learnt that the pair had purchased the properties through their UK-listed firms between July and September 2023.

One of the suspects, China-born Su Binghai, bought nine apartments in London worth $27 million just one week after he escaped police raids in Singapore.

Su, who holds Cambodian citizenship and has passports from Vanuatu, a South Pacific Ocean nation, and St Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean, was among 17 suspects who evaded arrest during the police operation on Aug 15, 2023.

In all, 10 foreigners were arrested that day. They were eventually convicted, sentenced and barred from returning to Singapore.

Property deeds and other official documents seen by ST and OCCRP showed that Su purchased nine units at The Broadway on Aug 22, 2023.

The Broadway, a high-end development at St James's Park in London, is about a 10-minute walk from Buckingham Palace.

The mixed-development private estate comprises six buildings with 258 apartments, including 16 penthouses.

In response to queries from ST and OCCRP, the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) said on Nov 7 that it seized Su's assets, including the nine properties, after reaching a settlement with the businessman to recover assets deemed to represent the proceeds of crime.