In Singapore’s largest money-laundering investigation, the Chinese national Lin Baoying, the sole female suspect among ten individuals implicated, was handed seven additional charges on Tuesday, May 21. The new allegations pertain to the possession of suspected criminal proceeds and the use of forged documents submitted to banks. During the court proceedings, Lin’s lawyer announced that she intended to plead guilty. Lin herself requested an early date to enter her plea.
The 44-year-old Chinese national, who attended the hearing via video-link and used a Mandarin interpreter, now faces a total of 10 charges. Previously, Lin was accused of forging documents to sell a property in Macau and falsely claiming she did not prepare the sales documents. These initial charges were amended on Monday, adding complexity to the case.
The updated charges accuse Lin of submitting a forged property sale agreement to justify deposits of nearly HK$122.5 million (US$15.7 million) into a CIMB Bank account and HK$75 million into a Standard Chartered Bank account. The new allegations extend similar accusations to documents submitted to UOB Kay Hian and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) related to deposits totaling HK$12.5 million across both accounts.
Lin is now charged with holding almost HK$210 million, suspected to be partly criminal proceeds, across four bank accounts. Additionally, she allegedly conspired with Liu Kai and Li Hongmin to forge a tax payment certificate to deceive Bank Julius Baer & Co.
Lin’s next court appearance is scheduled for a pre-trial conference on Thursday. Her partner, Zhang Ruijin, 45, was sentenced to 15 months in prison in April after pleading guilty to three charges related to the same money-laundering operation. The couple was apprehended last August in a bungalow on Pearl Island at Sentosa Cove.
The prosecution revealed that Lin has a teenage daughter residing in Beach Road with a domestic helper, while Lin lived separately in Sentosa. Combined, Lin and Zhang’s assets total approximately S$325 million (US$240 million), with Lin holding the larger share.
This case has led to the seizure or freezing of over S$3 billion in assets, marking it as Singapore’s largest money-laundering investigation and one of the most significant globally. To date, six of the ten suspects have been convicted, receiving sentences ranging from 13 to 15 months in jail and forfeiting over S$540 million in assets to the state.
