SINGAPORE – A company partly owned by Su Haijin, one of the 10 accused in the billion-dollar money laundering case here, paid more than $73 million for two buildings in London, checks by The Straits Times showed.

The buildings at 283 Oxford Street and 11 Princes Street, which back onto each other, were sold for £43.3 million (S$73.4m) on Dec 17, 2021 to New Yihao, according to property records in Britain.

A Foot Locker store is currently located at the building in Oxford Street, Europe’s busiest shopping street.

New Yihao was registered in tax haven Jersey, a British Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. The company was set up just two months before the purchases.

It lists Su as a beneficial owner, with a more than 25 per cent stake in a trust that controls the company. Another entity, Fiduchi Trustees Limited, also has a more than 25 per cent stake in New Yihao.

Su’s link to the sale of the properties was first reported on Wednesday by American media company Radio Free Asia and investigative reporting platform Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project.

The 40-year-old, a Cypriot national who was born in China, faces one charge of money laundering and another for resisting arrest in Singapore. He allegedly has over $4 million in a UOB bank account, said to be benefits from unlawful remote gambling offences.

The authorities have seized more than $170 million in assets from Su and his wife.

His ownership of a property in Oxford Street, London, was mentioned in court on Wednesday, at a hearing where he was denied bail.

According to an affidavit filed by the police, Su had admitted to having 10 properties abroad worth more than $14.2 million. Aside from the London property, he said he owned a condo in Cambodia, three condos in Cyprus, and five condos in Macau.

Meanwhile, his wife and four children are believed to be moving out of the good class bungalow in Bukit Timah that they have been renting and relocating to Gramercy Park, a condominium in the Orchard Road area.