A former Citibank relationship manager has pleaded guilty and been sentenced to two years in jail for helping a Chinese criminal network launder money in Singapore, the Financial Times reported.
Wang Qiming, a Chinese national who worked at Citibank for eight months, admitted to forging documents to mislead the bank’s compliance team about the source of client funds. Prosecutors said Wang created false remittance receipts to satisfy anti–money laundering checks after compliance staff raised concerns.
Authorities said the scheme funneled about S$3 billion (USD $2.3 billion) from illegal gambling operations into Singapore, making Wang the first financial services professional convicted of forgery in connection with the case, according to the newspaper.
He had joined Citi in October 2020 and left in August 2021, during which time he helped open accounts for several members of the network, the FT said.
His lawyer told the court Wang was introduced to one of the gang’s central figures, Su Baolin, who ran illicit gambling sites in Myanmar, through a friend of his father’s in China.
The case is part of a broader crackdown that began two years ago, when police carried out dawn raids and arrested 10 suspects, seizing luxury jewelry, handbags and cars. In July, the Monetary Authority of Singapore fined nine financial institutions, including Citibank and Julius Baer, a combined S$27.5 million, the second-largest penalty the regulator has imposed, according to the FT.
Read more at the Financial Times