Singapore police have arrested an individual sanctioned by the United States for links to the Prince Group. It is understood that he previously operated a yacht for the group’s founder, Chen Zhi.
In response to an inquiry from Bloomberg on the 18th, Singapore police said that Singaporean citizen Deng Wanbao (transliteration) was arrested after returning to Singapore on December 11th. Police said Deng Wanbao was arrested on suspicion of involvement in money laundering activities associated with Chen Zhi and his related companies.
A source told Bloomberg that Deng Wanbao has since been released on bail.
The 32-year-old Deng Wanbao is one of three Singaporean nationals sanctioned by the United States in October due to their links with Prince Group head Chen Zhi. The other two are Chen Xiuling (43 years old) and Yang Xinfan (53 years old).
According to information from the US Treasury Department, Deng Wanbao was the captain of the NONNI II superyacht owned by Chen Zhi, and is also the director and operations manager of the Singapore-based company Warpcapital Yacht Management.