Singapore.- The singapore police It has seized around 736 million dollars in cars, houses and luxury items and has arrested ten people in one of the most extensive operations carried out by the city-state against money laundering.
According to a statement published last night by the island police, ten people, all of foreign nationality and between the ages of 31 and 44, were arrested on August 15 in a police operation that involved more than 400 agents, who carried out raids simultaneous in various parts of the island, including luxurious bungalows.
The police arrested ten people, from China, Cambodia, Vanuatu, Turkey and Cyprus, whom they accuse of money laundering and document falsification, crimes punishable in Singapore with respective penalties of up to 10 years in prison.
Some detainees were also charged with resisting arrest. According to the police account, a Cypriot man jumped out of his bedroom window, on the second floor of a villa on the prosperous island, when police asked him to open the door, and was found hiding in a sewer.
In total, security forces seized around S$1 billion worth of assets (approximately US$736 million), including homes, 50 cars (including Bentley and Rolls-Royce models), cash, 250 luxury bags and 270 jewels, among other assets.
Counterfeit passports from China, Cambodia and the Dominican Republic were also found during the raid.
According to the police statement, foreigners are suspected of participating in an operation to launder in Singapore the capital obtained through illegal operations such as gambling and online scams.
“We have zero tolerance for the use of Singapore as a space where criminals and their families can hide, as well as abuse their banking facilities,” said David Chew, director of the commercial affairs department of the island police, in the statement.
This is one of the most extensive operations carried out by Singapore against money laundering.
The Asian city-state, a regional financial center, is frequently accused by NGOs for serving as a platform for illicit businesses, thanks in part to the secrecy of its financial system, occupying fifth place in the “ranking” of the nations with the largest level of bank secrecy in the world, according to the NGO Tax Justice Network.
