More Than 80 Properties From the S$3 Billion Money Laundering Case Head to Auction, Mostly Core Central Region Condos

The real estate tied to the money laundering network will be handled by realtors SRI, Edmund Tie and Company (SEA) and Knight Frank, said Deloitte. Outside of the auction process, certain selected properties will be offered for sale by List International Realty via an expression of interest process.

The first auction will be held by Knight Frank, expected on 17 September. Property firms SRI and Edmund Tie and Company will hold auctions on 23 September. Deloitte Singapore will reveal more details about the auctioned real estate projects on 7 September.

“Members of the public are advised to participate only through auctions or sales processes conducted by, or officially linked to, these appointed agencies,” said Deloitte.

An executive partner at SRI said the money laundering case properties will be launched together with other real estate at the auctions, with no specially arranged dedicated event for them. Auctions are held about once a month. Buyers interested in bidding can contact the three appointed auction houses and ask to be added to the contact list.

A senior executive at one of the property companies participating in arranging the auction, who requested anonymity, said the condominium units to be auctioned are ultra-luxury apartments located in the core central region Districts 9, 10 and 11, and are all related to the accused or interested parties.

She said: “Condo units located in the core central region are generally S$2 million or S$3 million starting. The units we are auctioning this time are also larger unit types, so prices are correspondingly higher.”

The units for auction are mostly those that carried mortgages, some possibly in arrears, where the relevant banks have already taken the units back and recovered all overdue loans. The properties being auctioned this time are therefore mainly units that have paid off their mortgages or have no mortgage.

Because foreigners buying landed residential properties on Singapore’s main island is strictly restricted, many of the accused had previously bought luxury homes in Sentosa Cove. Singapore police seized seven detached bungalows in Sentosa Cove as early as 2023, though it is not yet certain whether these will also be listed in this auction.

After Singapore police cracked the country’s largest money laundering case on 15 August 2023, involving nine men and one woman, they first froze assets. At that time, frozen assets and properties included 105 properties with a total value of S$831 million. Police later increased the number of properties under investigation to 207.

Over the past two years, some private homes and commercial shophouses involved in the case have been progressively put on the market. For example, a unit at The Marq on Paterson Hill held by one of the accused, Wang De, was reportedly sold in 2024 for S$25 million.

According to Urban Redevelopment Authority transaction data, two of the accused who jointly held 17 units at Canninghill Piers have been selling continuously since August 2024. These units had an average transaction price of S$2,915 per square foot, with total transaction value of S$81.8 million.

Other projects involved include units at South Beach Residences, Canninghill Piers, Park Nova, Wallich Residence, Leedon Residence and Tomlinson Heights. Many of the accused also favoured historic conservation shophouses. In 2024, about 10 shophouse properties related to the case on Amoy Street, Telok Ayer Street, Stanley Street and Geylang Road were put up for sale, with total value exceeding S$100 million.

Alongside the properties, luxury items such as branded handbags, watches and jewellery will be sold through a series of timed, online-only auctions. A spokesperson for Deloitte said two auctions, one for jewellery and a separate one for handbags, will be held on 7 September as part of the first phase of the sales process.

“Apart from auctions, certain assets may also be realised through alternative sale methods such as limited tender, expression of interest or direct selling,” said Justin Lim, performance improvement and restructuring partner at Deloitte.

A series of 15 such auctions for the smaller assets has been planned by Hotlotz, a local auction house that sold a silver Montblanc fountain pen owned by founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew for S$461,500 on 16 August. Hotlotz said the 15 auctions are slated to run between September and May 2027, with more than 1,000 items expected to be listed.

The sale of the seized luxury items is part of Deloitte’s strategy to liquidate the assets. All proceeds will be paid into the Consolidated Fund. A police spokesperson said some S$1.4 billion comprising cash held in seized bank accounts and other liquidated proceeds had already been paid into the Consolidated Fund as of the close of the 2025 financial year.

In total, the police seized or took control of around S$1.25 billion in non-cash assets, including cars, properties, art, watches, jewellery, gold bars, handbags and bottles of alcohol, during its probe into the nation’s largest money laundering case.

The items were progressively seized after an initial islandwide raid on 15 August 2023 led to the arrest of 10 foreigners, all of whom have since been convicted and deported from Singapore.

The Straits Times reported in January 2024 that the Government confiscated 207 properties, 77 vehicles, more than S$1.45 billion in bank accounts and more than S$76 million in cash of various currencies. Alongside these, thousands of bottles of liquor and wine, cryptocurrency worth more than S$38 million, 68 gold bars, 483 luxury bags, 169 branded watches and 580 pieces of jewellery were seized.