A Singapore court on Thursday (Aug. 15) charged two former bankers with helping a group of foreign nationals convicted last year of a $2.2 billion financial crime spree in the Asian financial hub's biggest-ever case.
According to Singapore Police statements and court documents, Wang Qiming and Liu Kai were relationship managers and Chinese nationals who worked at Citibank and Swiss private bank Julius Baer.
Wang, 26, faces 10 charges, including money laundering worth nearly $380,000 and falsifying loan documents. Liu, 35, is accused of using fake Chinese tax documents to help one of the money laundering convicts open a Julius Baer bank account in Switzerland, according to court documents.
Julius Baer and lawyers for the two men did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In a statement, Citibank said: “The individual in question has not been with us since April 2022. We do not comment on matters pending litigation.”
Last August, authorities conducted simultaneous raids and arrested ten foreign nationals holding multiple passports. The case drew attention in the city-state because of the large sums of money, cars, luxury goods and property involved.
Ten convicted money launderers were sentenced to jail terms of between 13 and 17 months and were deported and barred from re-entering Singapore after completing their sentences.
The case has prompted reforms including making it easier to prosecute money laundering cases.
Authorities have also set up an inter-ministerial panel to review anti-money laundering processes and examine financial institutions suspected of involvement.
In June, the government said Singapore's banking sector had the highest money laundering risk in the city-state. (ft/rs)
