How scammers are tarnishing Singapore’s incorruptible image
Singapore’s spotless reputation as a disciplined financial hub faces a reckoning as luxury property, philanthropy, and family offices become tools for global scam syndicates — testing how incorruptible the city-state truly is, says former journalist Goh Choon Kang.
Just as the shocking S$3 billion (US$2.3 billion) money laundering case was beginning to fade from public memory, an even bigger scandal erupted. The main figure — Chen Zhi, founder of Cambodian conglomerate Prince Group — once again hails from Fujian, China.
On 14 October, the US Department of Justice indicted 38-year-old Chen, charging him with wire fraud and money laundering and accusing him of running a vast scamming empire. Authorities have seized around US$15 billion in assets, while UK officials froze 19 London properties linked to Chen’s network, including one worth nearly £100 million (US$130 million).
The rise and fall of a scam empire
Originally from China, Chen later obtained British and Cambodian citizenship. According to prosecutors, he founded Prince Group in 2015, using businesses in real estate, financial services, and consumer services as a “legitimate front” for expansion. The group operated business entities in over 30 countries and has been linked to 128 companies worldwide, including 17 registered in Singapore.
The purchase of high-end condominiums has evidently become one of the main tools for money laundering.
Three Singaporeans have also been placed on the US sanctions list for alleged connections to the group. Reports indicate that Chen owns several luxury properties in Singapore’s Central region, including a freehold unit of over 5,000 square feet at the Gramercy Park condominium, estimated to be worth over S$10 million.
Other units in the same development were previously implicated in the S$3 billion money laundering case. The purchase of high-end condominiums has evidently become one of the main tools for money laundering. Consequently, a surge in luxury property sales may not necessarily be good news, but rather a sign for law enforcement agencies to stay vigilant.
On 31 October, the Singapore Police Force announced that officers had carried out enforcement operations across the island against Chen and his associates, seizing their assets and issuing prohibition of disposal orders. In total, police confiscated six properties and various financial assets, including bank accounts, securities accounts, and cash amounting to over S$150 million. Other seized items included a yacht, 11 cars, and numerous bottles of liquor.
According to the US indictment, Chen and his senior executives used political influence and bribery to protect their criminal network. Part of the illicit proceeds was laundered through Prince Group’s online gambling and cryptocurrency mining businesses, and then spent on luxury watches, yachts, private jets, vacation homes and even a Picasso painting from an auction house in New York City.
The indictment also alleges that Chen’s fraud network operated “pig butchering” scams, in which victims were emotionally manipulated into investing in cryptocurrency schemes, only to have their accounts drained. These scams often led to massive financial losses, with the stolen funds ultimately channelled into lavish spending and asset transfers.
Lavish lifestyles a cover for crime
Online scams have now become mainstream in the fraud “industry” — a sprawling transnational business and toxic by-product of the digital age. These syndicates have harmed countless victims, some of which have been driven to despair, while the perpetrators live in extravagant luxury, masquerading as wealthy and successful entrepreneurs and mingling with the elite across borders. The cunning masterminds of these fraud syndicates are really big flies, yet they manage to disguise themselves as bees, infiltrating high society in places such as Singapore.
... some big flies in disguise have slipped through. They have gone undetected, evaded the scrutiny of law enforcement, and tarnished Singapore’s hard-earned reputation as a disciplined financial centre — a cause for real regret.
Luxury homes, yachts, upscale automobiles, fine wines, gold — these are all symbols of wealth. Can they resist flaunting it? For scammers who have grown rich through deceit, ostentatious displays of wealth serve the purpose of bolstering the facade. These displays project an image of success, convincing others of their supposed knack for making money in order to build networks and carry out illicit dealings under a veneer of legitimacy.
In seeking to attract high-net-worth individuals to settle, invest, establish family offices, purchase property, and engage in philanthropy — as well as to draw wealth management firms — Singapore has indeed welcomed many genuine “bees”, making its financial ecosystem more vibrant. Yet, inevitably, some big flies in disguise have slipped through. They have gone undetected, evaded the scrutiny of law enforcement, and tarnished Singapore’s hard-earned reputation as a disciplined financial centre — a cause for real regret. The situation has grown so conspicuous that Western media have even coined the derogatory term “Singapore-washing”.
Singapore’s strengths must not become loopholes for scammers
While Singapore, as a global financial hub, cannot afford to overreact or close its doors, it must nonetheless review and strengthen its screening processes to plug the loopholes that have allowed scammers to enter — and remain for extended periods — to launder illicit funds.
Singapore is not a country plagued by political corruption, so why are these scammers coming here?
Another question is whether the penalties for scammers are adequate. The recent move by the authorities to amend the law and introduce caning for offenders is a step in the right direction. The string of exposed money laundering cases underscores the need for firm, uncompromising action against scammers, coupled with stronger preventative measures.
Singapore is not a country plagued by political corruption, so why are these scammers coming here? This is mainly because of Singapore’s efficiency and convenience as an international financial centre, along with its strong protection of personal assets. But these very strengths must not be turned into tools for scammers to exploit.
Next, while Singapore is not a poor country, many areas in society still rely heavily on financial support — for example, community infrastructure projects rely on donations, and various welfare, charitable organisations and tertiary institutions also depend on substantial contributions. Unfortunately, this has become the perfect “talisman” for scammers.
... those who present themselves as philanthropists are not always genuinely benevolent. In fact, distinguishing the true benefactors from the hypocrites is not too difficult.
To the public, those who give generously are seen as benevolent, and those who donate large sums are assumed to be wealthy, capable and successful. Such an image earns them trust and admiration, making it easier for them to conceal their true intentions and to lower the guard of others.
But in reality, those who can spend lavishly on luxury homes and cars are not necessarily honest businesspeople, and those who present themselves as philanthropists are not always genuinely benevolent. In fact, distinguishing the true benefactors from the hypocrites is not too difficult. We simply need to be more discerning, especially of those whose generosity serves mainly to curry favour with the powerful or to ride on their influence, and to resist taking appearances at face value.
Help from the inside
Whether it is the notorious northern Myanmar scam syndicates, Su Haijin from the S$3 billion money laundering case, or now Chen Zhi, the methods are strikingly similar. Beyond ingratiating themselves with the powerful and posing as philanthropists, they have also used money to buy off local military and police forces in countries such as Myanmar, Cambodia, and Thailand — blurring the line between law and crime. Chen’s rapid rise in Cambodia was largely due to his connections with the long-ruling Hun Sen family. He founded Prince Group in 2015, and amassed a fortune worth tens of billions in just ten years.
However, the speed at which these scam syndicates establish a foothold locally clearly indicates some level of assistance from local collaborators. As the saying goes, “money makes the world go round”; there is no such thing as a utopia of incorruptible people. Judging by the actions of these syndicates, bribing a few profit-driven locals is not particularly difficult.
Singapore also has its share of home-grown scammers. The Singapore Police revealed that on 9 September, authorities, in collaboration with the Cambodian National Police, have launched an operation against a Cambodia-based organised criminal group accused of impersonating officials to scam Singaporeans. Formed last year, the group includes 27 Singaporean and seven Malaysian fugitives who are still at large. Among the fugitives, one Singaporean attended the prestigious Anglo-Chinese School (Independent), while several others have criminal records.
Modern scam syndicates, leveraging advanced communication technologies including Starlink satellites and shielded by local power networks, have made cross-border law enforcement far more challenging, requiring close transnational cooperation. However, given the varied political situations within Southeast Asian countries, coordinating enforcement operations is no easy task. Eradicating large-scale scam hubs, such as those entrenched along the Myanmar border, is particularly difficult.
Fraud has existed since time immemorial, but it is particularly rampant today. In a world where online scams have become ubiquitous, everyone must make fraud prevention a daily priority. Likewise, law enforcement must have sharp, discerning eyes to promptly identify the big flies masquerading as bees, punish them harshly and deter others.
This article was first published in Lianhe Zaobao as “严厉打击伪装成蜜蜂的大苍蝇”.
