‘Person of interest’ took $3M from jailed man’s Binance account days after arrest
A Binance account belonging to a key suspect in a S$2.4 billion ($1.7 billion) anti-money laundering operation in Singapore was reportedly drained of millions of dollars while the man was in police custody, according to court records.
The records show that a “person of interest” withdrew S$3.8 million ($2.8 million) from the account of Turkish national Vang Shuiming two days after he was arrested. Vang was detained in August following a series of raids that seized over S$2.4 billion in assets.
Roughly S$200 million ($146 million) worth of assets linked to Vang, including cash, property, and vehicles, have been confiscated and over S$52 million ($38 million) worth of crypto has been seized from suspects in total.
The Singapore Police Force’s Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) reportedly wasn’t aware of the Binance withdrawal until “foreign authorities” tipped it off.
CAD also said, “Information gathered suggests that the movement of assets was by a person of interest after the accused had been arrested.” Police are also currently searching for Vang’s fugitive brother and two others in connection to the scheme.
Forty-two-year-old Vang was denied bail after arguing that his immobile parents required his help. The judge disagreed, noting that his parents traveled by private jet last March.
The court also noted Vang’s ownership of S$49 million ($35.5 million) in overseas assets that would allow him to easily flee the country. It also voiced concerns that he could receive help from three of the fugitive suspects.
He faces four charges of possession of criminal proceeds obtained from money laundering and one charge of document forgery.
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