Bids begin closing for jewellery seized from Fujian gang; yellow diamond ring attracts $230k offer

SINGAPORE – Bids for 286 pieces of fine jewellery seized in Singapore’s landmark $3 billion money laundering case ranged from $700 to $230,000 as the second online auction for the confiscated goods began concluding shortly after 4pm on Sept 27.

Diamonds dominated the proceedings. A 15.02-carat “fancy yellow” diamond ring attracted an offer of $230,000, closely followed by a $220,000 bid for a Hermes bracelet studded with 263 diamonds totalling 30.31 carats.

At the other end of the spectrum, the cheapest item was a gold ring engraved with a heart and the letters WQ, which appear to be the initials of Wu Qin, the wife of convicted money launderer Su Haijin. As at 4pm, it had an asking price of $700. A matching band engraved with the letters SHJ had a bid of $800.

Bidding for the items began closing from 4pm, with the latest items left on auction scheduled to conclude after 8pm.

Under the rules of local auction house Hotlotz, which is hosting the auction, any bid placed within the final five minutes extends the bidding period for that lot by another five minutes. The extension continues until five minutes pass without a new bid.

A buyer’s premium of 20 per cent is also added on top of the closing bid.

Online bidding for this second tranche of items began on Sept 7 alongside a separate auction for luxury goods that closed on Sept 20.

That earlier auction, which featured 337 items including luxury handbags and accessories, attracted more than $1.1 million in bids.

A limited-edition Louis Vuitton pumpkin bag was the most sought-after piece, with 81 bids pushing the final price to $87,000.

The next round of auctions begins on Nov 9, as part of 15 sales scheduled through May 2027.

In addition to the luxury items, properties linked to the money laundering suspects have also been put up for sale.

On Sept 23, four luxury apartments at Wallich Residence and Martin Modern were sold at auction, although another 15 properties were withdrawn after failing to meet their reserve prices or attract any bids.

Among the properties withdrawn was the most expensive – a 42nd-floor penthouse at South Beach Residences with a guide price of $25.3 million.

In total, more than 1,000 luxury items forfeited in connection with the case are being auctioned. The sales are overseen by professional services firm Deloitte, which was appointed by the police in 2025 to manage and liquidate the seized assets.

All proceeds will go into the Consolidated Fund, which functions as the Government’s central bank account.

Aqil Hamzah is a transport journalist at The Straits Times. He is also interested in issues related to crime and technology.