US$50m sale for scam-linked Singapore building pulled after 3 days
The sale listing for a 32,000 sq ft commercial building in the crosshairs of an ongoing money laundering probe in Singapore and the US was taken down just three days after it was put up.
Located in the Bukit Merah vicinity, the property at 2 Jalan Kilang Barat was put up for sale for about $50 million on Dec 2.
No reasons were offered for the listing’s removal.
Meanwhile, The Straits Times has learnt that the building’s owner, 25-year-old Chen Xiaoxuan, is assisting the Singapore Police Force (SPF) with its investigations into embattled Cambodian businessman Chen Zhi.
Her father, Tan Yew Kiat, 49, was arrested over his suspected involvement in money laundering offences.
Police had raided his office in Kung Chong Road in late November in connection with the US probe into Chen Zhi.
Originally from China, Chen Zhi heads the Prince Group, which is involved in property development and financial services.
The 38-year-old tycoon and his close adviser Chen Xiuling, or Karen Chen, were named by the US and Britain in sweeping sanctions announced on Oct 14 for their links to wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies, as well as their roles in forced labour scam compounds across Cambodia.
The property at 2 Jalan Kilang Barat was identified in the US probe as the Singapore address for 11 companies directly linked to Chen Zhi and three companies linked to Chen Xiuling.
ST had earlier revealed that the building was purchased by 2JKB, a firm Ms Chen Xiaoxuan incorporated in December 2022, just seven months before it secured the property.
ESR-LOGOS REIT, which held the deed then, had reportedly divested the property for $35.3 million in November 2022, and it was later put up for sale.
The property agent who listed the property on December 2 did not respond to ST’s request for comments.
Chen is also listed as a director of Supreme Cars Financial Services, Rolls Platform, and Cars and Coffee Leasing.
All the firms are registered at the same 2 Jalan Kilang Barat address.
Officers from SPF had moved in against Chen Zhi and his associates in Singapore, mounting an operation on Oct 30 that saw more than $150 million in assets, including luxury vehicles and a yacht, being seized or frozen.
Andrew Wong
The Straits Times
Asia News Network
Meanwhile, at least US$15 billion (S$19.4 billion) worth of Bitcoin and tens of millions in other assets, including properties in places such as London and the Pacific island of Palau, have been seized by the authorities in the US and Britain.
Three Singaporeans – Nigel Tang, Chen Xiuling and Alan Yeo – were sanctioned by the US authorities on Oct 14 in connection with the probe. Their assets in the US have also been blocked or frozen.
National Development Minister Chee Hong Tat on Nov 5 revealed that the police in Singapore were already investigating Chen Zhi and his associates prior to his indictment in the US.
Chee, who is also deputy chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, was responding to questions in Parliament about actions taken against Chen Zhi.
Following the sanctions in the US and Britain, Prince Group issued a statement on Nov 11 rejecting the notion that the firm or its chairman Chen Zhi was involved in any unlawful activity.
The statement said the ongoing allegations against the group were “baseless” and appeared to be aimed at justifying the seizure of assets worth billions of dollars.
Chen Zhi’s whereabouts are currently unknown, but SPF has said he is not in Singapore.
