It appears that as long as you’re wealthy, you can get anything, even citizenship.
It turns out that nine out of ten people arrested for the $1 billion money laundering saga have links to Cambodia, despite originating from China.
By now, we’re no longer surprised at any new developments, are we?
9 of the 10 Foreigners in Money Laundering Saga Have Cambodian Citizenship
According to The Straits Times, the individuals involved in the money laundering case hold citizenship in seven different jurisdictions, including Cambodia, although they are all believed to have originated from China.
A gazette published by the Cambodian government, which lists the identities of new citizens, revealed that nine of the accused were granted Cambodian citizenship between August 2018 and March 2021.
This is particularly noteworthy as China does not allow dual citizenship status.
The Cyber Scam Monitor, a website run by an anonymous group from the human rights, humanitarian, academic, and media fields, was the first to report the granting of Cambodian citizenship to the nine accused.
Further investigation by The Straits Times found that the same nine individuals allegedly had links to firms in Cambodia.
And of course, it’s not just firms in Cambodia.
The Common Denominator
In a separate search of the accused persons’ business interests in Singapore, one common denominator was found in the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) records.
A man, identified by The Straits Times only as JJ, is listed as a director or shareholder of 185 firms in Singapore.
Last week, the prosecution successfully argued for the continued detention of the accused persons, stating that several are allegedly linked to fugitives from overseas jurisdictions and criminal syndicates based overseas.
This information was obtained, in part, from the accused individuals themselves.
The ten accused individuals, who were arrested on 15 August, will appear in court again on Wednesday.
Eight individuals wanted in connection with the case have reportedly fled the country, potentially leading to Interpol involvement.
Additionally, although the banks implicated in the money laundering saga flagged suspicious transactions made by the accused persons, there might have been lapses in their compliance with anti-money laundering regulations.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) stated that it might be premature to draw conclusions at this stage, as there have been previous cases where individuals successfully deceived banks despite their compliance with regulations.
MAS will continue to work closely with financial institutions to assess whether they have taken all reasonable steps to avoid the risks of money laundering or terrorist financing.