SINGAPORE: A 32,000 sq ft commercial building linked to Cambodia’s Prince Group has been taken over by a local automotive firm in a private deal, but proceeds from the sale have been seized by the authorities.
The Straits Times understands that 2 Jalan Kilang Barat, located in the Bukit Merah vicinity, changed hands for S$39 million in a deal brokered in June and completed in September.
The buyer is Jackspeed Holdings – a regional automotive company involved in motor financing, retail, leasing insurance and leather upholstery for motor vehicles and aircraft.
The 99-year lease for the property has at least 36 years left in its tenure. It was purchased in 2023 by 2JKB, a firm set up by the daughter of local businessman Tan Yew Kiat.
Tan, whom police arrested in November 2025 over his suspected involvement in money laundering offences, is said to have been involved in activities linked to Cambodia-based Prince Group and its chairman Chen Zhi.
The authorities in the US had described Prince and its affiliated entities as part of a transnational cyber fraud and money laundering syndicate.
A police spokesperson told ST that investigations in Singapore into entities and individuals linked to Chen Zhi are ongoing.
“As part of ongoing investigations, police had seized the proceeds from the sale of the commercial property at 2 Jalan Kilang Barat. We are unable to comment further given ongoing investigations,” said the spokesperson.
Checks by ST showed that Chen Xiaoxuan – Tan’s 25-year-old daughter – incorporated 2JKB in December 2022, just seven months before it secured the property.
The building came into the cross-hairs in the wake of a US Treasury sanctions list published in October 2025, which identified 2 Jalan Kilang Barat as the address of 11 companies directly linked to Cambodian national Chen Zhi.
Three companies linked to Singaporean Karen Chen Xiuling were also identified.
The Prince Group chairman, who was born in China, was arrested in Phnom Penh and extradited to Beijing at the start of the year, where he is awaiting further proceedings.
A warrant of arrest in Singapore remains for Karen Chen, who is believed to have fled to Cambodia.
Checks by ST showed ESR-LOGOS REIT held the deed for the commercial property before it reportedly divested the property for $35.3 million in November 2022. The property was later put up for sale.
Less than three years after purchasing the property, 2JKB attempted a sale of the building in December 2025 for $50 million. This was one month after Tan was arrested.
The listing was taken down three days later and a caveat to prevent the sale of the building was filed by the authorities. The police later revealed that Chen Xiaoxuan was assisting with the Chen Zhi probe.
The caveat was later lifted to allow the sale of the commercial property to Jackspeed Holdings.
Veteran criminal lawyer S.S. Dhillon told ST that the Singapore Police Force can seize the proceeds of a sale if it suspects or can prove that the money came from benefits of criminal conduct.
“If police are convinced these are benefits of criminal conduct, they will seize it first and then deal with it later.
“The owner or any claimant can come forward to contest the seizure, if not, the state will take all the money,” said Dhillon, adding that a court case will determine how the sale proceeds are benefits from criminal conduct.
Yap Kian Peng, Jackspeed’s chairman, told ST that he looked into operating a car dealership at 2 Jalan Kilang Barat around Dec 18, 2025, incorporating Carazee, a premium used-car dealership, as a wholly owned subsidiary on Jan 20, 2026.
During that time, Yap was informed by a banker that the building had been put on sale. Yap said that he was initially not keen to buy the property. However, he felt that it would be to Jackspeed’s disadvantage if the company took up a lease of the showroom and the property ended up being bought by a competitor.
Jackspeed thus began the process of purchasing the property on Jan 26. This included entering into a Deed of Call Option, which is a legal agreement for Jackspeed to have the exclusive right to buy the property while the necessary work and approvals are obtained.
Jackspeed’s head office is located at Henderson Road, which is also in the Bukit Merah area.
Yap said that the nine-storey building now has five tenants. Other than Carazee, there is a car audio distributor, an information technology company and two interior design studios.
Carazee is a fully owned subsidiary of Jackspeed Holdings. Since January, it has taken over the ground-floor space previously occupied by Supreme Cars, a dealership where Chen Xiaoxuan was previously employed as a marketing director.
Supreme Cars is known in the motor trade for specialising in high-end used cars. Its former directors, Eric Chua and Devin Koo, are now on Carazee’s payroll as the directors of sales and marketing, and purchasing, respectively.
Speaking to ST, Chua said Chen Xiaoxuan had partnered with Supreme Cars to tap its network and sell off vehicles she had taken over from her other businesses.
Chua said Chen Xiaoxuan had never been a stakeholder in Supreme Cars and the dealership was not related to similarly named affiliate companies she had incorporated.
Both Chen Xiaoxuan and her father were separately involved in some of the companies, which include Supreme Cars Financial Services, Supreme Autocare and Supreme Gem.
Checks by ST found that Chua and Koo had been appointed directors in Supreme Autocare on the same day Chen Xiaoxuan’s directorship ceased.
Business records show Chua and Koo are also directors in Supreme Cars Leasing, Supreme Insurance Services Agency and SC Financial Services. Chen and her father are not on the records of those companies.
Chen Xiaoxuan did not respond to ST’s attempts to reach her. She remains a director in 2JKB, Supreme Cars Financial Services, and Cars and Coffee Leasing.
Business records show all three companies are still registered with the 2 Jalan Kilang Barat address.
Of the firms sanctioned by the US in October 2025, Alphaconnect Investments, Alphaconnect Investments II, Drew Properties, Drew Properties II, Binary Properties, Huntsman Investments, Majesty Properties, and Greenbay Properties remain registered at the same address. - The Straits Times/ANN
