SINGAPORE – The brother of one of the 10 foreigners convicted in the $3 billion money laundering case has been found guilty of one count of possessing more than $17 million in criminal proceeds.
On Oct 19, Zhang Ruisheng, the older brother to convicted money launderer Zhang Ruijin, 47, was sentenced to 12 months jail. He also agreed to forfeit his property at 69 Cove Drive, along with his Toyota Veilfire, to the state.
Court documents showed the 54-year-old had received around $17.6 million in his CIMB account in 11 transfers made between August 2020 and September 2020.
The first transfer was made around a week after he opened the bank account.
Ruisheng, who was in Singapore on a work pass, was hired as an “employment advisor” by Golden Eagle Family Office at the time of the offences.
Ruijin and his wife Lin Baoying, 46, were then directors of the family office. They owned it outright through their holding company Golden Eagle Assets.
When questioned by CIMB, Ruisheng claimed the proceeds were from a property in Macau, which he said was sold for HK$87.7 million ($14.3 million). As proof, he submitted a purported sales and purchase agreement dated Aug 8, 2020 to the bank.
Ruisheng also submitted a fake loan agreement dated March 23, 2020, to show he had provided a personal loan of $6 million to a company named Han Li Limited. He said he was due to receive repayments in two tranches within a year of the agreement.
Following the submission of the forged documents, Ruisheng used the money in his CIMB account, splashing more than $10.4 million on a sprawling Sentosa home.
CIMB eventually decided to terminate their relationship with Ruisheng and closed his account in December 2020.
Before his account was closed, Ruisheng withdrew the remaining balance of nearly $5 million and later used it to front a 20 per cent deposit for another Sentosa Cove property, in the name of a third brother.
The prosecution said investigations into Ruisheng had commenced on Aug 15, 2023, the same day the criminal network was exposed in Singapore.
Authorities then seized his luxury seven-seater car and issued a prohibition of disposal order against his 69 Cove Drive property.
Both Ruijin and Lin were each sentenced to 15 months’ jail in 2024 for their roles in the 2023 $3 billion money laundering case in Singapore. The pair were deported to Cambodia in June 2024 after serving their sentences.
Ruijin had forfeited nearly $118 million worth of assets to the state in 2024. Lin similarly forfeited around $154 million to the state in 2024, following her conviction.