Fifth man in money laundering case surrenders $118m assets

Zhang Ruijin, an accused in the $3b money laundering case who told the court to put his lover in remand after their arrests, has been sentenced to 15 months’ jail.

This is the highest jail term meted out in this case so far.

The 45-year-old Chinese national, who also holds a passport issued by Saint Kitts and Nevis, is the fifth person to plead guilty in this case.

Zhang has agreed to forfeit about $118 million, or around 90 per cent, of his assets to the state, said his lawyer Eugene Thuraisingam.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Ryan Lim said $131 million worth of assets, cash, vehicles and cryptocurrency belonging to Zhang have been seized by the authorities.

On April 30, Zhang, who laundered a total of $36 million, admitted to one money laundering charge and two forgery charges.

Five other charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.

He has been in remand for over eight months since he and his lover, Lin Baoying, were arrested on Aug 15, 2023, in a bungalow on Pearl Island on Sentosa Cove.

On April 30, DPP Lim said that between July and October 2020, several deposits totaling over HKD$138 million (S$24 million) were made to Zhang’s CIMB bank account in Singapore.

The prosecutor said that according to Zhang, the deposits were for him to buy property in Singapore.

At the time, Zhang was in Singapore on an employment pass and had no verifiable sources of income.

The bank requested Zhang to explain the source of the deposits and provide documentation.

Zhang told the bank he had sold property in Macau and Beijing. He used a forged document as a genuine one to deceive CIMB and to justify the deposits.

On his money laundering charge, the DPP said Zhang could not explain how money totalling HKD$7.5 million was in his CIMB bank account.

During police investigations, he claimed the funds were legitimately derived from companies in China, but he could not prove it, said the prosecution.

Seeking 14 to 16 months’ jail for Zhang, DPP Lim said general deterrence is the primary sentencing consideration to maintain Singapore’s reputation as a legitimate and reputable financial hub.

Said DPP Lim: “First, there was a transnational element to his offending, and second, there was a level of sophistication in bringing the suspected criminal funds into Singapore.”

On Zhang’s forgery charges, the prosecutor said such offences cannot be allowed as it would lead to a loss of confidence in Singapore’s banking system and require additional safeguards to be taken.

“This could lead to an increased cost tasked to all customers and all users of the bank, which include legitimate customers,” he added.

In mitigation, Mr Thuraisingam sought a sentence of not more than 14 months for his client.

He said that on the forgery charges, no financial loss was caused to the bank in this case.

Mr Thuraisingam added: “His cooperation has meant that the authorities are not required to do much tracing for his source of funds for every asset. His cooperation is genuine evidence of remorse.

“This is a man who is sorry for what he has done, and he urges your Honour to take that into consideration.”

When Zhang and Lin were first charged on Aug 16, 2023, Zhang told the court they were lovers.

Referring to Lin, he said: “You can separate her crimes from me, we are just lovers... You can bail me out, but remand her.”

They were denied bail as the prosecution said they were flight risks.

Lin, the only woman in the group, faces two forgery charges and one charge of perverting the course of justice. Her case is pending.