One billion dollars.
Some of us can only dream of that money. Yet there are people in this world who own such vast sums of assets that a billion dollars is nothing much for them.
One billion dollars is also the value of the assets and other valuable items, such as Bearbricks seized in the money-laundering bust the local police and investigators completed earlier this month.
With several foreign nationals nabbed for suspected involvement in the money laundering scheme, details of the money laundering are slowly emerging.
There has also been more scrutiny into the companies linked to the nabbed individuals.
Interestingly enough, not all the companies which are supposedly located in various areas around Singapore can be found at their registered addresses.
Here’s more about this unfolding development related to money laundering activities in Singapore.
Some Businesses Linked to Nabbed Individuals Cannot Be Located at Their Registered Addresses
If you want to incorporate a business in Singapore, the chances are that you have to register your company with Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA).
Information such as the names of directors, number of shares of the company and registered address of the company are filed with ACRA so that there is a proper record of the business.
Since the money laundering blitz in Singapore, some firms linked to the nabbed suspects have closed.
However, there are still firms linked to these suspects which continue operating in Singapore.
The Straits Times reported that checks done showed only three firms were at their registered addresses mentioned in ACRA records. This is despite the firms being “live” or still in operation.
The other firms linked to the ten nabbed individuals could not be found at their registered addresses.
Cue the dramatic music.
According to The Straits Times, there were a total of 11 firms which could not be located.
For example, some firms linked to Su Haijin, which supposedly should have been at Asia Square Tower 1, were not located actually located in the building located within our CBD area.
These firms include Yihao Cyber Technologies and Aiqinhai Investment.
Interestingly enough, some of the suspected criminals had listed private residences as their official registered addresses for the companies.
The Straits Times reported that Daily Glory International, yet another firm linked to Su, had Kewalram House in Bukit Merah as its registered address.
Would you be surprised if the company cannot be found there? Hint: the company was not found there.
There were also allegedly other addresses of restricted locations listed in the records.
If you are curious as to why businesses are used for money laundering, refer to this informative video: