Business
The $2bn dirty-money case that rocked Singapore
A Singaporean court has begun handing out sentences in a sensational case, which saw 10 Chinese nationals charged for laundering $2.2bn (£1.8bn) earned from criminal activities abroad.
The scandal embroiled multiple banks, property agents, precious metal traders and a top golf club. It led to extensive raids in some of the most affluent neighbourhoods, where police seized billions in cash and assets. The lurid details have gripped Singaporeans – among the seized assets were 152 properties, 62 vehicles, shelves of luxury bags and watches, hundreds of pieces of jewellery and thousands of bottles of alcohol.
Earlier this month, Su Wenqiang and Su Haijin, became the first to be jailed in the case. Su Haijin, police said, jumped off the second-floor balcony of a house trying to flee arrest. Both men will serve a little over a year in prison, after which they will be deported and barred from returning to Singapore. Eight others are still awaiting the court’s decision.
Even as it draws to a close, the case – the biggest of its kind in Singapore – has raised inevitable questions. The money that paid for their plush lives in the country, prosecutors said, came from illegal sources overseas, such as scams and online gambling.
How did these men, some of whom had multiple passports from Cambodia, Vanuatu, Cyprus and Dominica, live and bank in Singapore for years without drawing scrutiny? It has sparked a review of policies, with banks tightening rules, especially around clients who hold multiple passports.
Most important, the case has spotlighted the country’s struggle with welcoming the super wealthy, without also becoming a destination for ill-gotten gains.
Luxury cars were among assets police seized in their raids (BBC)
Singapore, which is often referred to as the Switzerland of Asia, started wooing banks and wealth managers in the 1990s. Economic reforms in China and India had begun to pay off, and then in the 2000s, a newly-stable Indonesia saw wealth grow as well. Soon, Singapore became a haven for foreign businesses, with investor-friendly laws, tax exemptions and other incentives.
Today, the ultra-rich can fly into Singapore’s private jet terminal, live it up in luxurious quayside neighbourhoods, and speculate on the world’s first diamond trading exchange. Just outside the airport is a maximum security vault called Le-Freeport that provides tax-free storage for fine art, jewels, wine and other valuables. The $100m-facility is often dubbed Asia’s Fort Knox.
Singapore’s asset managers drew S$435bn from abroad in 2022, almost double the figure in 2017, according to the country’s market regulator. More than half of Asia’s family offices – firms which manage private wealth – are now in Singapore according to a report by consulting giant KPMG and family office consultancy Agreus.
They include those of Google co-founder Sergey Brin, British billionaire James Dyson and Chinese-Singaporean Shu Ping, boss of the world’s biggest chain of hotpot restaurants, Haidilao.
Authorities say some of the accused in the money laundering case may be linked to family offices that were given tax incentives.
“There is an inherent contradiction for a place like Singapore, which prides itself on clean and good governance but also wants to accommodate the management of massive wealth by offering advantages such as low taxes and banking secrecy,” says Chong Ja-Ian, a non-resident scholar at Carnegie China.
“The risk of also becoming a banker for individuals who earned their money through nefarious or illicit means grows.”
Singapore’s attraction for the ultra-rich comes with risks, analysts say (BBC)
For rich Chinese, Singapore is a top choice because of its reputed governance and stability, as well as its cultural links to China. And more Chinese money has been entering Singapore in recent years.
One of the 10 suspects in this case was wanted in China since 2017 for his alleged role in illegal gambling online. Prosecutors claimed that he settled in Singapore because he “wanted a safe place to hide from the Chinese authorities”.
This isn’t the first time Singapore-based banks have been implicated in a financial crime. They were found to have played a role in cross-border laundering in the 1MDB scandal, where billions were misappropriated from Malaysia’s state investment fund. Dan Tan, who was once described by Interpol as “the leader of the world’s most notorious match-fixing syndicate” also had strong business links to Singapore. He was arrested here in 2013.
The country has strict rules targeting white collar crimes and is an active member of the Financial Action Task Force, a global body which targets money laundering and financing for terror networks. Over the years, banks have invested heavily to strengthen compliance, to screen prospective customers and to urge regulators to report suspicious transactions. But none of this is foolproof.
For one, it is difficult for regulators to spot suspicious cases in a sea of high-value transactions. “It’s not just one needle in a haystack, but one needle in several haystacks,” Singapore’s second minister for home affairs, Josephine Teo, told parliament in October last year.
Singapore’s buoyant property market is a popular means to “clean” dirty money, some experts pointed out. And there are the casinos, nightclubs and luxury stores.
“Massive amounts of money pass through Singapore’s banking system every day. Criminals can exploit this feature and disguise their money laundering activities among legitimate ones,” accounting professor Kelvin Law from Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University told the BBC.
Singapore’s property market is one of the routes for dirty money, experts say (BBC)
Singapore also does not limit the amount of cash that can be carried in and out of the country, only requiring a declaration if the sum exceeds S$20,000. And that is an advantage, says Christopher Leahy, the founder of Singapore-based investigative research and risk advisory firm Blackpeak.
“If you want to move lots of money, you hide it in plain sight and Singapore is a great place for that. There is no point putting it in the Cayman Islands or the British Virgin Islands, where there is nothing to spend money on,” he said.
When asked for a response to analysts’ comments that Singapore’s advantages as a financial capital are also a draw for dirty money, authorities pointed the BBC to the law and home affairs minister interview in a local newspaper last year.
“We can’t close the window, because if we did that, then legitimate funds will also not be able to come. And legitimate business also can’t be done, or becomes very difficult to do. So we have to be sensible,” K Shanmugam said.
“When you are successful, you are a major financial centre, a lot of money comes in, some ‘flies’ will also come in,” he added, referring to an oft-repeated quote of the late Chinese leader, Deng Xiaoping.
Singapore has to decide how far it will go in accepting “money with varying shades of grey”, says Dr Chong of Carnegie China.
While increased regulation will help, he says transparency poses a bigger challenge: “Transparency goes against the very model of discretion that allows many wealth management hubs to thrive.”
Some analysts say this may well be the price Singapore is willing to pay to retain its position as a financial hub.
“The vast majority of the funds are legitimate, after all,” Mr Leahy says. “But there is an inevitable cost to being a major financial centre.”
(BBC)
Nestlé Lanka Limited, the ‘Good Food, Good Life’ company, celebrates 120 years of operations in Sri Lanka this year. Since its founding in 1906, the company has grown into the nation’s leading food and beverage manufacturer, producing over 90% of its locally sold products in Sri Lanka. Guided by its purpose of enhancing quality of life for today and future generations, Nestlé Lanka has touched lives through nutrition, livelihoods, and sustainability.
Over the decades, the company has offered tastier and nutritious choices tailored to local needs, from birth to old age, with micronutrient-fortified products that promote healthier living. Iconic brands such as NESTOMALT and MILO further encourage active and healthy lifestyles through sports sponsorships.
Beyond products, Nestlé Lanka engages communities through partnerships with dairy and coconut farmers, supporting skills development, responsible sourcing, and local livelihoods. Its youth empowerment initiative, Nestlé Needs YOUth, strengthens employability, while collaborations with organisations like BConnected create inclusive work pathways for people with disabilities.
Sustainability is a core focus, with a commitment to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Recent steps include a biomass boiler commissioned in 2024 and the use of 100% renewable electricity at the Kurunegala facility. Through these initiatives, Nestlé Lanka continues to deliver on its promise of enriching lives while safeguarding the planet.
Commenting on this milestone, Bernie Stefan, Chairman and Managing Director of Nestlé Lanka said, “Celebrating 120 years in Sri Lanka is a moment of immense pride for all of us at Nestlé. This milestone reflects not only the longevity of our business, but the trust generations of Sri Lankan families have placed in us and the strong partnerships we have built across the country. For over a century, we have been committed to Working Together for Good – contributing meaningfully to the Sri Lankan economy, supporting livelihoods, and positively impacting communities, while consistently providing tasty and nutritious products that consumers love. Through iconic brands such as NESTOMALT, MILO, MAGGI to name a few, we have been part of everyday moments in Sri Lankan homes, helping nourish families and support healthier, more active lifestyles. As we look ahead, we remain firmly committed to continuing this journey with purpose, responsibility and care, enriching Sri Lankan lives every single day.”
Sri Lanka’s condominium landscape continues to expand at pace, reshaping urban living across the country, yet many residential communities still rely on manual payment methods that slow down collections, delay reconciliations and limit financial visibility for both residents and management corporations.
Responding to this growing gap, Sampath Bank PLC has partnered with Apartner (Pvt) Ltd to digitise condominium payments in Sri Lanka, introducing a secure, real-time payment and settlement framework designed to support smarter, more efficient apartment living. The partnership integrates Visa’s Cybersource payment gateway with Sampath Bank’s API Manager, enabling seamless digital payment collection alongside instant outward settlements and reconciliations.
Speaking on the collaboration, Chirath Samarasekara, Head of Card Centre at Sampath Bank, stated, “Condominium living is becoming a defining feature of modern Sri Lanka and the financial infrastructure that supports it must evolve accordingly. Through Visa’s Cybersource payment gateway and our API Manager, this partnership enables real-time settlements and reconciliations that bring greater transparency, control and predictability to condominium payments while offering residents a secure and convenient digital experience.”
Deshan Dias Bandaranayake, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Apartner, commented, “This partnership with Sampath Bank allows us to remove one of the biggest operational pain points faced by condominium communities. Real-time payment visibility and automated reconciliation give management corporations confidence in their cash flows while residents gain convenience, security and peace of mind through a platform built for everyday living.”
For many Sri Lankans, buying a lottery ticket is a daily ritual. Some do it out of habit; others try their luck from time to time. Morning crowds gathered around lottery kiosks across the country are testimony to the enduring appeal of the small slip of paper that promises fortune.
But in the quiet village of Dolahena in Kalawana lives a man whose relationship with the lottery stretches far beyond hope of a windfall.
At 88, retired postal worker E. M. D. Bandara Ekanayake has spent more than seven decades buying lottery tickets — and, more remarkably, preserving them. His collection, which dates back to the early years of organized lotteries in Sri Lanka, may well be one of the most extensive personal archives of lottery tickets in the country.
“I started buying lottery tickets in 1962, the year the National Lottery Board was established,” Bandara told the Sunday Island. “At that time a ticket cost only 50 cents, and the top prize was about one lakh of rupees.”
His fascination with lotteries, however, predates the National Lottery Board itself. Bandara recalls purchasing his first ticket in 1959 when a lottery was held in connection with an industrial exhibition.
“From then until today, I have been buying five tickets at a time,” he said. “For about 76 years I have continued this habit.”
Unlike most lottery buyers who discard their tickets once the draw is over, Bandara carefully preserved every ticket he purchased. As a result, he now possesses lottery tickets issued by both the National Lottery Board and the Development Lotteries Board from 1962 to the present.
“I don’t think anyone else has such a collection,” he said with a quiet smile.
Ironically, his decades-long participation has not brought him extraordinary winnings. “Apart from small prizes, the biggest amount I have ever won is Rs. 10,000,” he admitted.
Yet Bandara insists that winning has never been his primary motivation.
“I buy lottery tickets with great interest and enthusiasm, but not because I expect to win,” he said. “The lottery boards contribute a great deal to the development of this country. Funds raised through lotteries support education, health and other development work. I feel a deep sense of satisfaction knowing that I too contribute, even in a small way.”
His dedication to buying tickets has endured despite the difficulties he once faced in obtaining them.
“In the early days there were no lottery sales outlets in the Kalawana area,” Bandara recalled. “The only place we could buy them was at Sinnaiah Stores in Nivitigala. I used to travel by bus to buy the tickets and bring them back. Sometimes I would send someone else to buy them for me.”
Over time, lottery sales expanded to Kalawana itself. Bandara remembers that a trader named P. D. T. Lathpadura Mudalali began selling lottery tickets at the Ranasinghe Hotel, making it easier for locals like him to buy them.
E. M. D. Bandara Ekanayake
From then on, Bandara purchased his tickets locally, but the practice of carefully preserving them remained unchanged.
His passion for collecting does not stop with lottery tickets. Bandara has also maintained an extensive collection of newspapers over the years. Even bus tickets from his journeys have been preserved alongside his treasured lottery slips.
The unusual collection recently drew the attention of officials from the National Lottery Board, who visited Bandara’s home bearing gifts after learning about his decades-long dedication.
For Bandara, however, the recognition is secondary to a larger sense of purpose.
“I will continue buying lottery tickets as long as I live,” he said. “At the same time, I try to help others and engage in social service whenever I can.”
His commitment to community welfare is not merely rhetorical. Using his own funds, Bandara has already built a community hall for the benefit of residents in his village.
“I hope to continue doing social service in the future as well,” he said.
In an era when lotteries are often associated with dreams of instant wealth, Bandara’s story offers a different perspective — one of quiet dedication, civic-mindedness and personal discipline.
For him, the value of a lottery ticket lies not in the promise of riches but in the small contribution it makes towards the collective good.
And after 76 years, that belief remains unshaken.
By Upendra Priyankara Jathungama
Showers will occur at several places in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central, North-western and Uva provinces and in Galle, Matara, Mannar and Anuradhapura districts after 2.00 pm.
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