SINGAPORE: The sale of a 32,000 sqft commercial building in the crosshairs of an ongoing money laundering probe in Singapore and the United States has been taken down just three days after it was listed.
Located in the Bukit Merah vicinity, the property known as 2 Jalan Kilang Barat was put up for sale for some S$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 their 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 late November in connection with the US probe on Cambodian tycoon Chen Zhi.
Chen Zhi, who is originally from China, heads the Prince Group, which is involved in property development and financial services.
The 38-year-old, and his close advisor Chen Xiuling, or Karen Chen, were named by the US and the UK 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 2 Jalan Kilang Barat was identified in the US probe as the address in Singapore 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 Pte Ltd, a firm 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 later put it up for sale.
The property agent who listed the property on Dec 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 to 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.
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 UK.
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 have said he is not in Singapore. - The Straits Times/ANN
