An ongoing investigation into an alleged US$2-billion money laundering ring has stirred turmoil in Singapore, with the disappearance of Su Binghai, the founder of an Asian private equity firm, drawing attention. Suspected to be linked to the laundering ring, Su Binghai, of Chinese descent, has become a “person of interest” in the investigation, though no formal allegations have been made against him in Singapore, a Straits Times/OCCRP investigation has found.
Su Binghai established the private equity firm, New Future International, in 2017, later becoming a co-owner with Wang Dehai, one of the ten individuals arrested by Singapore police during the August bust. The investigation has also cast a shadow over two other directors of New Future International, Su Bingwang and Su Fuxiang, considered “persons of interest” in the case.
Despite attempts to reach them for comment, none of the individuals involved have responded, raising further questions about their whereabouts and involvement in the ongoing probe.
New Future International, headquartered in Hong Kong with branches in Singapore, showcases an investment portfolio across various countries and industries. However, public records verifying these investments are unavailable, and the company’s owners have maintained anonymity since shifting the firm’s ownership entity to the British Virgin Islands in 2019.
Su Binghai, alongside Su Bingwang and Su Fuxiang, possesses significant global assets, including multiple passports and high-value properties. Reports indicate that their sudden departure from Singapore in September coincided with police inquiries post the money laundering crackdown.
The uncertainty surrounding their location extends to their roles within New Future International. Employees at the Singapore office acknowledged their involvement but disclosed their absence since September, declining to provide further details.
The investigation has prompted the seizure of over 150 properties by Singapore authorities, alongside gold bars, cryptocurrencies, cash, jewelry, and vehicles during the raids. Wang Dehai, linked to the online gaming industry and allegedly involved in generating funds for the laundering, had been sought by Chinese authorities before the Singapore bust.
Despite these developments, New Future International’s operations remain elusive, and questions persist regarding the extent of the individuals’ involvement in the alleged money laundering activities. The investigation’s focus on their ties to illegal gaming and online scams highlights the complex nature of financial crimes in Southeast Asia, particularly targeting Chinese citizens.
The situation surrounding the Sus and their connections to dubious financial activities underscores the challenges faced by authorities in curbing sophisticated cybercrime operations prevalent in the region. The incorporation of multiple companies and the relocation of ownership entities across offshore jurisdictions further complicate the investigation into New Future International and its directors’ involvement.
Additionally, the Sus’ high-profile affiliations, including membership in prestigious clubs and charitable donations, contrast with the allegations against them, hinting at a dual existence marked by apparent philanthropy and murky financial dealings.
The scrutiny over the Sus’ activities has amplified concerns over regulatory oversight and loopholes allowing illicit money flows, urging authorities to strengthen anti-money laundering measures in the region.
What OCCRP investigation says?
According to OCCRP, more than 150 properties have been confiscated by Singapore authorities in connection with the crackdown on the alleged money laundering ring so far. Some 68 gold bars, cryptocurrencies, millions in cash, 546 pieces of jewelry, and 62 vehicles were also impounded during the raids.
Even before he fell afoul of Singapore authorities, Wang Dehai was a wanted man. In February 2018, Chinese authorities published an arrest warrant alleging he was involved in illegal gaming.
Along with Wang, two others arrested in Singapore in August had a background in online gaming. According to authorities, this was not a coincidence: A large amount of the funds laundered in Singapore, police said, was generated by online casinos and telecommunications scam factories.
Southeast Asia is in the midst of a lucrative cybercrime spree, much of it targeting Chinese citizens. China’s Ministry of Public Security has estimated illegal gambling by mainland Chinese amounts to 1 trillion yuan a year, or about US$140 billion.
The scam and online casino industry in Cambodia alone has been estimated to be worth between US$7.5 billion and US$12.5 billion a year, Jeremy Douglas, head of Southeast Asia operations at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, told OCCRP.
Wang was at the forefront of the online gambling revolution in the region, working in the Philippines between 2012 and 2016, according to media accounts of court testimony he has given since his arrest. The industry was legal in the Philippines but, because the casinos targeted bettors in China where gambling is illegal, he was breaking Chinese laws.
Just a few months after Wang’s 2018 Chinese arrest warrant was publicized on police social media accounts, he and Su Binghai incorporated a company called Yuen Zheng Holding Limited, splitting ownership equally, Hong Kong corporate registry data shows.
That same year, Yuen Zheng took over 100 percent of the shares of New Future International Limited, the private equity firm which Su Binghai had founded a year earlier.
In 2019, New Future was again taken over by another company registered in the British Virgin Islands: “Yuan Zheng Holding Limited,” which is spelled exactly the same as the Hong Kong entity’s Chinese characters in standard pinyin transliteration. Because of the territory’s corporate secrecy rules, it was not possible to determine who owns Yuan Zheng. (Su Binghai and Wang Dehai’s Hong Kong-based company, Yuen Zheng, was dissolved in 2021).
Despite the change of the ownership entity, the three Sus remain directors of New Future, according to a 2023 corporate filing in Hong Kong. Singapore corporate records also show Su Binghai and Su Fuxiang are the majority shareholders of New Future’s Singapore subsidiary. Su Binghai, meanwhile, features prominently on New Future’s corporate website, where he is pictured sitting at the center of a group of suited professionals.
New Future’s Singapore arm also nominated Wang Dehai for membership of the deluxe Sentosa Golf Club, according to a list of defaulting members reviewed by the Straits Times this month.
The three Sus are all natives of Anxi County, an inland mountainous area of Fujian province on China’s southeastern coast. Otherwise known only for its tea plantations, Anxi has become a hotbed of online scams and illegal gambling.
The Sus also hold multiple passports. All three are citizens of Cambodia, and at least two — Su Binghai and Su Fuxiang — hold citizenship of the Caribbean nation of St. Kitts and Nevis. Su Binghai also listed a Vanuatu passport in the documents seen by reporters.
They have used these citizenships to set up dozens of companies in Hong Kong and Singapore. Many of those in Hong Kong reported just one Hong Kong dollar in registered capital, the minimum required to set up a company.
New Future does not publish financial results, but boasts on its corporate website that “the Founding Partners have, separately or jointly as co-investors, made over $2 billion of private equity investments in Greater China during the five-year period prior to founding New Future”.
The website also lists a portfolio of industries — including “Environmental Material Technology and Applications,” “Digital Mobile Payment Service,” and “VR Immersive Solutions” — in which it says it invests in Hong Kong, China, Singapore, and Indonesia. But it does not provide details of those investments and reporters could find no evidence of them in public records.
In Hong Kong company registries, the three Sus list high-end residential addresses as their correspondence addresses. In Singapore, the last known addresses for both Su Binghai and Su Bingwang were ultra-luxury bungalows — Su Bingwang’s just a stone’s throw from embassies and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
