Watches & Jewelry from $2.3bn Singapore Haul to be Sold
August 17, 25
(IDEX Online) - Watches, diamond jewelry and gold bars, as well as cars, properties, art, cash and handbags with a total value of USD 2.33bn have been handed over by police in Singapore to be sold on behalf of the government.
They were seized in an anti-money laundering operation in August 2023, in which 10 Chinese nationals - nine men and one woman - were arrested and 17 suspects fled the country.
All those arrested were convicted of money laundering, forgery, and resisting arrest, sentenced to between 13 and 17 months, and deported.
Items were displayed by the Singapore Police Force on Tuesday (12 August) as they were handed over to accounting firm Deloitte for liquidation.
They include watches Patek Philippe World Time Chronograph, worth USD 93,000 and a Richard Mille RM 67, valued at $311,000, other timepieces by Van Cleef & Arpels, Rolex and Audemars Piguet, at least 13 cases of earrings, bracelets, jade necklaces and other jewlery items, and 58 1kg gold bars.
The funds laundered reportedly came from operations including illegal gambling, scams, and unlicensed money lending primarily linked to China and, allegedly, online gambling in southeast Asia.
Videograb shows some of the seized watches.