$14M penthouse leads auction of 6 more homes seized in Singapore's biggest money laundering case

The auction covers six Singapore homes connected to the money laundering case. Five are in Nouvel 18, in the Ardmore Park enclave near Orchard Road. The sixth is a four-bedroom apartment at New Futura on Leonie Hill Road. Both developments are freehold.

The Nouvel 18 homes range from 124 to 569 square meters. Their layouts include two-bedroom-plus-study, three-bedroom, three-bedroom-plus-study and four-bedroom units. Guide prices range from about S$31,600 to S$38,300 per square meter. The largest unit is a four-bedroom duplex penthouse on the 36th floor, listed at S$18 million.

The 250-square-meter New Futura apartment has a guide price of S$9.8 million. The auction is scheduled at SRI’s Great World office. These six properties add to a wider program selling assets forfeited in the case, with proceeds going to Singapore’s Consolidated Fund.

The wider asset sale is much larger than this single auction. Deloitte said more than 80 properties and over 1,000 luxury items will be sold in phases through mid-2027. These assets were forfeited in connection with Singapore’s money laundering case. The scale shows that the six apartments are only one stage of a long-running disposal program.

The six homes include five units at Nouvel 18 and one at New Futura. They are not the first properties offered. Their sale raises the total number of properties linked to the case that have been put up for auction since September to 32.

Singapore Police appointed Deloitte in July 2025 to manage and sell the non-cash assets. Three brokerages were appointed to auction properties tied to the case. More homes, along with luxury goods, are expected to reach the market through mid-2027, with proceeds directed to the government’s Consolidated Fund.

In August 2023, Singapore arrested 10 foreigners in what The Straits Times described as the country’s biggest money laundering case. The case involved assets that were later forfeited, including properties, cash and luxury items. The article identifies three property owners: Su Haijin, Lin Baoying and Zhang Ruijin.

The consequences were extensive. All 10 people were jailed, made to forfeit their cash and assets, deported after serving their sentences and barred from re-entering Singapore. Their forfeited properties are now being sold through auctions or other sale processes. The article presents the forfeiture as a result of the case, without detailing each defendant’s specific conduct.

Deloitte is managing the sale of the non-cash assets for the Singapore Police Force. More than 80 properties and over 1,000 luxury items are scheduled for sale in phases through mid-2027. The proceeds will go to Singapore’s Consolidated Fund rather than back to the defendants.

Freehold property ownership generally means the owner holds the property indefinitely, rather than for a fixed lease term. The source article states that both Nouvel 18 and New Futura are freehold developments. That status distinguishes these homes from leasehold properties, whose contractual ownership period has an end date.

For example, a buyer considering one of the five Nouvel 18 apartments would be buying in a freehold development completed in 2014. Nouvel 18 has 156 units across two 36-story blocks. The sixth home is in New Futura, a freehold development completed in 2017 with 124 units.

Freehold status may make these apartments attractive to buyers seeking long-term ownership and fewer concerns about a lease expiration. It does not guarantee a particular price or investment return. The article also highlights privacy, facilities and proximity to Orchard Road as selling points for Nouvel 18.

The proceeds from selling the forfeited assets will go to Singapore’s Consolidated Fund. This includes money raised from properties, luxury items and other non-cash assets connected to the case. The arrangement means the sale proceeds are directed to the government fund rather than returned to the people whose assets were forfeited.

The process covers a large collection of assets. Deloitte said more than 80 properties and over 1,000 luxury items are to be sold in phases. Singapore Police appointed Deloitte in July 2025 to manage and sell the non-cash assets. Brokerages handle individual property sales, including the Nouvel 18 and New Futura auction.

The six apartments are part of this ongoing process. They bring the number of case-linked properties offered since September to 32. Other sales will continue through mid-2027, according to Deloitte. The article also reports separate Sentosa Cove sales through expressions of interest, with their proceeds likewise tied to forfeited assets.

An auction is a sale process where interested buyers compete by submitting bids, usually under stated auction rules. The property is offered at a scheduled event or auction platform. An expressions-of-interest process is different: buyers submit proposed prices and terms by a deadline, and the seller reviews the responses rather than conducting a live bidding event.

The six apartments are being auctioned at SRI’s Great World office. By contrast, three Sentosa Cove bungalows with private yacht berths and a vacant sea-view plot are being sold through expressions of interest by List Sotheby’s International Realty. Their guide prices range from S$15.68 million to S$23.65 million.

The Sentosa Cove bids close between October 15 and November 12. The article does not state the final selection rules or whether a winning offer must meet the guide price. It does show that forfeited properties are being marketed through different sales channels, depending on the property and appointed brokerage.

Money laundering generally means processing money gained from crime to conceal its origin or make it appear legitimate. It can involve moving funds through transactions or converting them into assets. The article does not explain the specific alleged laundering methods in Singapore’s case, so those details cannot be established from the source.

Luxury real estate can be useful in laundering schemes because expensive property can absorb very large sums and represent wealth in a tangible form. A purchase may convert cash into an apartment, bungalow or land holding. In this case, properties included Nouvel 18 and New Futura apartments, plus Sentosa Cove homes and a vacant sea-view plot.

Singapore’s case involved 10 foreigners arrested in August 2023. All were jailed and made to forfeit their cash and assets. Authorities are now selling the forfeited properties and more than 1,000 luxury items, with proceeds going to the Consolidated Fund. The article does not identify each asset’s role in the alleged crime.