SINGAPORE: A man who conspired with one of the 10 offenders in the S$3 billion (US$2.33 billion) money laundering case to lie to the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) about the state of a company’s books was sentenced to jail on Thursday (Jul 16).
Wang Junjie, a 43-year-old Singaporean, was jailed for 32 weeks and disqualified from being a director of any company for five years.
He had earlier pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiring with Su Haijin to make false representations to IRAS about the revenue, gross profits and trade receivables of Su Haijin’s company, Yihao Cyber Technologies.
He also admitted to a charge of failing to act honestly as a director of Yihao Cyber Technologies, by falsifying accounts and forging contracts.
Another 13 charges were taken into consideration.
While Wang’s lawyer argued that his client made no material gains other than his professional fees as a corporate service provider, the judge said it was not about the amount but Wang’s conduct in the position he was in.
“You know, the way we work in Singapore, they want to make it as easy, as convenient for most businesses,” said District Judge John Ng.
“We are all trying to comply with the regulations which the (Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority) is trying to make as plain and easy … but actually, the trust level has to be high,” he said.
He explained that once trust is broken and the system is abused, “we have to come down hard”, and a heavy punishment is in order.
THE CASE
Wang worked for companies where Su Haijin and co-accused Su Baolin were directors and helped create the appearance that one of the companies was profitable despite it having no legitimate business activity in Singapore.
Su Baolin, a Cambodian national, and Su Haijin, a Cypriot national, were among the 10 offenders convicted and jailed in the S$3 billion money laundering case, the largest such operation uncovered in Singapore and believed to be one of the largest globally.
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