The legal fees to be incurred by the 10 foreigners arrested during the recent S$1 billion money laundering raid in Singapore could go as high as S$10 million, according to lawyers that Shin Min Daily News interviewed.

The 10 accused, who have been slapped with money laundering and forgery charges, made an appearance in court on Aug. 23.

The lawyers hired to represent these individuals are some of the best in the business, with some hailing from well-known law firms, such as Lee & Lee, Drew and Napier, and Quahe Woo & Palmer, Shin Min reported.

The legal fees for some of them could exceed S$1,000 per hour, according to a Shin Min source.

The source also said legal fees depend on the nature and stage of the legal process, with lawyers charging clients different rates based on how far along they are with the legal proceedings.

Another source said each of the 10 accused's legal fees would cost at least S$300,000, but could potentially reach up to S$1 million.

Accused denied contact with families, to remain in remand as investigations continue

Despite efforts made by the lawyers of the accused, the court denied them bail and also limited access to their families.

According to The Business Times, District Judge Terence Tay agreed with the prosecution's request that each of the accused be further remanded for eight days to prevent interference with ongoing investigations.

The prosecution argued that the investigation had "many moving parts", and that letting the accused out on bail run the risk of collusion and evidence contamination, noting that the accused were likely to be connected in "some form of network" that included some of the witnesses.

The lawyer representing Su Baolin, one of the accused, argued for bail on the grounds that his client had a congenital heart condition.

However, the judge denied the request noting that Su Baolin, who was remanded at Changi Medical Centre, could still receive adequate treatment in custody.

Another one of the accused, Su Haijin, who sustained multiple fractures after jumping out of the second-floor balcony of a bungalow, would need to undergo surgery at Changi General Hospital, where he is being treated.

Contact with the family of the 10 accused would also be limited, according to The Straits Times.

Su Haijin was given permission by the judge to see his family via his lawyer's laptop in court, where he waved to them.

However, the judge denied permission for several accused to communicate with their spouses and family, some of whom are witnesses in the case.

The prosecution also pointed out that family members could carry out instructions from the accused or external parties to tamper with evidence and interfere with investigations.

Police seeking documents from more than 10 financial institutions

Citigroup's Singapore subsidiary and Malaysia's CIMB bank are among more than 10 financial institutions that the authorities are seeking documentation from as part of investigations.

According to BT, two of the accused, Vang Shuiming and Su Baolin, have been charged with providing false information or documents to Citibank Singapore.

Another two, Zhang Ruijin and Lin Baoying, have been charged with seeking to cheat CIMB concerning their ownership and sale of a property in Macau.

A statement by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said the authorities "will take firm action against FIs (financial institutions) which are found to have breached MAS’ stringent requirements on anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism".

Links to S$300,000 donation made to President's Challenge 2020

Shin Min also found that the three of the accused had ties to donations made to the 2020 President's Challenge.

A spokesperson for the President's Challenge said they had received three cheques, each for S$100,000, via Sian Chay Medical Institution, which had borne the names of three of the accused.

The funds were reportedly dispersed to beneficiary organisations in June 2021.

A spokesperson for the President's Challenge said the charity had no direct contact with the three accused, with no further donations since then.

They also said they had been following media coverage of the money laundering case and were monitoring the situation closely.

Top photos from Singapore Police Force and Google Maps.