Last of 10 to lead guilty given longest jail term of 16 months

Wang Dehai agrees to forfeit 49m, or 90% of his assets seized by the state

- Wong Shiying and Nadine Chua

The last of the 10 foreigners to plead guilty in the $3 billion money laundering case was sentenced to 16 months' jail the longest term meted out so far in the case.

Cypriot national Wang Dehai, 35, who pleaded guilty on June 7 to one money laundering charge, agreed to forfeit more than $49 million, or about 90 per cent of his seized assets, to the state.

Five other charges, including three counts of making a false statement to the Ministry of Manpower's Controller of Work Passes, were taken into consideration during sentencing.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Louis Ngia said more than $54 million worth of assets, such as vehicles, cryptocurrencies and luxury items, had been seized from Wang.

They include assets funded by Wang but held in the name of his wife, Su Caihuang.

The court heard that since 2012, Wang was involved in an illegal remote gambling business based in the Philippines that targeted punters in China. He started out as a customer service staff member before becoming a promoter and was given a 3 per cent share in the annual profit of the business.

In 2016, he was given 80 million yuan (S$15 million) for his role in the business. He received HK$8 million (S$1.4 million) in 2022.