Two suspects in $3b money laundering case spent $70m on UK properties while on the run in 2023

SINGAPORE – Two suspects linked to the $3 billion money laundering case spent more than S$69.8 million on properties in London while on the run from the authorities in Singapore.

The Straits Times, working with investigative reporting group, the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), learnt that the pair had purchased the properties through their UK-listed firms between July and September 2023.

One of the suspects, Su Binghai, bought nine apartments in London worth $27 million just one week after he escaped police raids in Singapore.

China-born Su Binghai, who holds Cambodian citizenship, and has passports from Vanuatu, a South Pacific Ocean nation, and St Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean, was among 17 suspects who evaded arrest during the police operation on Aug 15, 2023.

In all, 10 foreigners were arrested that day. They were eventually convicted, sentenced and barred from returning to Singapore.

Property deeds and other official documents seen by ST and OCCRP showed that Su Binghai purchased nine units at The Broadway on Aug 22, 2023.

The Broadway at St Jaime’s Park, a high-end development in London, is about a 10-minute walk from Buckingham Palace.

The mixed-development private estate comprises six buildings with 258 apartments, including 16 penthouses.

In response to queries from ST and OCCRP, UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) on Nov 7 said that it has seized Su Binghai’s assets, including the nine properties, after reaching a settlement with the businessman to recover assets deemed to represent the proceeds of crime.

NCA said the High Court in London had granted an Unexplained Wealth Order (UWO) as well as a freezing order for Su Binghai’s UK assets in April 2025.

UWOs may be issued when authorities have reasonable grounds to suspect the asset in question was obtained through unlawful conduct.

The order requires the individual or organisation to explain how they obtained the asset.

“Su Binghai chose not respond to the UWO, and instead instructed Counsel to submit an application to discharge the UWO and freezing order. The hearing of the discharge application was listed for Nov 5, 2025,” an NCA spokesperson said.

The NCA also seized three Jurassic-era dinosaur skeletons that were purchased by Su Binghai for £12.4million (S$21.2 million) in a December 2024 auction in London.

The fossils of one adult and juvenile Allosauruses and a Stegosaurus that were found in Wyoming, United States, are believed to be around 150 million years old.

Mr Rob Burgess, head of Asset Denial, said: “While the recovery of dinosaur fossils is unusual, they demonstrate the value of the Proceeds of Crime Act which allows us to recover suspected criminal assets, whatever form they take.

“The result is the same, be it cash, houses or dinosaur bones; preventing people benefiting from the proceeds of crime.”

A collection of 11 Chinese artworks that were purchased in a 2022 auction for more than £400,000 (S$685,000) was also seized.

A court order mandated that 25 per cent of the proceeds of the sale of the recovered assets will be paid into a bank account nominated by Su.

“Su Binghai will also repay over £340,000 (S$582,571) in rental income from the London apartments. The total recovered is expected to be in the region of £20 to 21 million,” said the NCA.

ST previously reported that Su Binghai had fled Singapore the same night the raids took place in Singapore on Aug 15, 2023.

After an employee drove him across the causeway, he caught a flight at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Aug 17, 2023.

The 10 foreigners who were nabbed were given jail sentences and made to forfeit their cash and assets.

The authorities also went after $2.1 billion worth of assets linked to the 17 suspects.

In November 2024, police said that 15 out of 17 suspects on the run had agreed to surrender their assets, valued at around $1.85 billion, that were left behind.

The fugitives did this in exchange for the withdrawal of Interpol Red and Blue Notices against them.

A Red Notice is a request to seek the location and arrest of persons wanted for prosecution or to serve a sentence, while a Blue Notice is a call to collect additional information about a person’s identity, location or activities in relation to a criminal investigation.

Su Binghai and his wife, Wang Manzu, had agreed for their assets to be surrendered to the state in October 2024. The assets include properties and four cars valued at more than $316.6 million.

Su Binghai has also been barred from re-entering Singapore.

Checks by ST showed that he still has at least two properties in Dubai, worth nearly $1.2 million in total, and multiple luxury apartments in Hong Kong.

Second suspect

One of the two fugitives who did not surrender his assets is Xu Haika, who is originally from China. He changed his name to Xu Haita when he became a Cambodian citizen in 2018.

Checks by ST showed his assets in Singapore include a shophouse in South Bridge Road, which he had purchased in 2021 for $27 million.

According to property deeds verified by ST and OCCRP, Xu Haika had purchased 16 units worth around $42.6 million in two developments in London between July and August 2023.

One of the projects, located along Fareham Street in Central London, is just a stone’s throw from Oxford Street, a major shopping belt.

ST learnt that Xu Haika, who claimed to be a businessman when he was in Singapore, had used different profiles to register his links to three companies in the Republic.

The profiles all listed Xu’s nationality as a citizen of Vanuatu.

The three profiles were registered to different addresses: one in Fujian, China, a condominium in Beach Road and the third, an apartment in Tomlinson Road.

The other suspect who has yet to surrender his assets is Xu Hainan.

Around $144.9 million worth of assets linked to Xu Haika and Xu Hainan remain seized or subject to prohibition of disposal orders in Singapore.

When asked if police in Singapore are working with law enforcement agencies in UK in relation to the properties in London, a spokesperson said that they will engage foreign counterparts for assistance where necessary.

The spokesperson added that that step has not been deemed necessary.

“The Singapore Police Force has not found any evidence so far to suggest that the properties acquired by Su Binghai and Xu Haika in the UK between July and September 2023 were purchased with criminal proceeds originating from Singapore,” said the spokesperson.

In response to queries on the progress of Xu Haika’s case, the spokesperson said: “We are unable to comment further, as police investigations into the remaining two foreign nationals, Xu Haika and Xu Hainan, are still ongoing.”

Shell companies

Su Binghai and Xu Haika had purchased the London properties through their own UK-registered firms.

According to UK property deeds, Su Binghai used Su Empire, a holding company he incorporated in March 2023, to purchase the apartments.

Xu Haika bought the properties through his real estate firms Rong Fa Investment and Rong Hai Investment, which were both incorporated in 2022.

Both men still have business interests in Singapore.

A check on the local business registry found that Su Binghai remains a director of six companies – all registered to his former rental home – a good class bungalow in an estate close to Adam hawker centre.

Su Binghai is also a shareholder of eight firms in the Republic, including New Future Holdings.

In response to queries from ST, the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (Acra) confirmed that it is looking into the companies linked to Xu Haika and Su Binghai.

“There are ongoing regulatory or enforcement actions. Acra will not hesitate to take firm action against any breaches, as necessary,” a spokesperson said.

LIMN Law associate director Ng Kai Ling said an application to strike a firm off the business registry can only be initiated by the company itself.

After the application is made, Acra will publish a notice in the Government Gazette to notify the public at large of the application.

Ms Ng said the application will only go through if there are no objections within 60 days of the gazette notification.

There could be complications if the companies involve third parties. She said even a shell company could have legitimate contracts with third parties.

“For instance, the shell company may have rented office premises.

“Striking off the company would affect the rights of legitimate creditors, so it would be a more tailored approach to go after the directors or corporate service providers involved instead,” said Ms Ng.

ST visited the registered address of New Future Holdings at Suntec Tower One and found another firm, Straits Alliance, there instead.

Checks online show Straits Alliance is a business service provider which offers virtual office address solutions.

On Oct 28, an employee of Straits Alliance told ST that New Future has been its client since January. She said that New Future pays a fee to rent a virtual office space.

New Future was previously been located at Millenia Tower when ST visited the newly-renovated office in December 2023.

Su Binghai continues to hold $2.5 million worth of shares in the firm. Another suspect, Su Fuxiang, has a $1.5 million stake in the same firm.

Su Fuxiang, who evaded arrest, was one of the 15 suspects who surrendered his assets to the state. He has been barred from returning.

Separately, Xu Haika remains the sole director of Rong Hai Development, a holding company registered to his 43rd floor apartment at South Beach Residences. He also holds $500,000 worth of shares in the firm.

Xu Haika was formerly a director in Rong Fa Development. The firm has been struck off the local registry.

Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction

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