$3b money laundering case: 4 months' jail for relationship manager, second bank employee involved in saga to be sentenced

A former bank relationship manager involved in the $3 billion money laundering case was sentenced to four months in jail on Friday (Oct 24).

Liu Kai, a 36-year-old Chinese national, was convicted on one count of using as genuine a forged document, according to a statement by the police.

He was employed as a relationship manager at the Singapore branch of Bank 
Julius Baer & Co (BJB).

Liu is the second bank employee related to Singapore's largest money laundering case to be sentenced.

On Thursday (Oct 23), Wang Qiming, a 28-year-old Chinese national, was sentenced to two years in jail on two counts of forgery, one count of money laundering and one for the obstruction of justice.

Lin Baoying, one of the 10 people jailed in the billion-dollar case, contacted Liu on Aug 2, 2020, to open an account with BJB in Switzerland, said the police.

The application required Lin to provide Liu with supporting documents that showed proof of income, such as income tax documents.

In response, Lin requested for samples of tax documents filed in China and asked Liu for advice on the amount of taxes that should be reflected on her tax documents. 

Liu subsequently provided a few samples, and told Lin that her tax document should reflect an income of about 500,000 yuan (S$91,200). He also told her that a whole number would look suspicious.

Lin then provided a Tax Payment Certificate purportedly issued by the Chinese tax authorities as proof of her income for application to BJB, and was later guided by Liu to make additional edits so that the information would be more consistent with her earlier representations to BJB.

According to the police, Liu received several revised versions of the Chinese tax document from Lin on Nov 24, 2020, of which one was submitted to BJB Singapore Branch. 

Subsequent investigations showed that the document was forged and had not been issued by the Chinese authorities. 

Those convicted of using as genuine a forged document will face a jail term of up to 10 years and a fine.

[[nid:724373]]

dana.leong@asiaone.com