A former Citibank relationship manager has been sentenced to two years in prison for his role in one of Singapore’s largest-ever money-laundering scandals, according to a report by the Financial Times.
Wang Qiming, a Chinese national who worked at the U.S. bank from October 2020 to August 2021, pleaded guilty to forging documents to mislead Citibank’s compliance department about the origins of client funds.
The case is tied to a Chinese criminal network accused of channeling roughly S$3 billion ($2.3 billion) in illicit proceeds from illegal gambling operations into Singapore’s financial system.
Singapore’s state court found that Wang falsified remittance receipts and other records to open accounts for members of the network, including individuals linked to Su Baolin, a gambling operator based in Myanmar. Prosecutors said Wang received small commissions—about S$800 per account—for setting up the transactions.
Judge Chay Yuen Fatt rejected the defense’s request for leniency, stating that Wang “abused his position of trust and knowledge of Citi’s anti-money-laundering processes.”
The court ruled that his conduct had “blighted the reputation of the banking industry.”
Citi was among nine financial institutions fined a combined S$27.5 million by the Monetary Authority of Singapore in July for compliance failures tied to the same scheme. The scandal has prompted regulators to tighten anti-money-laundering checks across banks and family offices, which investigators said were used to move illicit funds.
Another banker, Liu Kai, formerly of Julius Baer, is expected to plead guilty to forgery charges related to the case. Both Citi and Julius Baer declined to comment, the Financial Times reported.
The money-laundering investigation, which began two years ago, led to multiple dawn raids by Singapore police and the seizure of luxury goods, jewelry, vehicles, and property. Authorities have described the case as a turning point for compliance oversight in one of Asia’s most important financial centers.