Singapore Police Force (SPF) is investigating Hu Xiaowei and Qiu Wei Ren over alleged money laundering linked to the Prince Group, a company designated by the US as a transnational criminal organisation in October 2025 for fraud and money laundering operations [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Both men are originally from China but had left Singapore prior to October 2025 and are not currently in the country [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
Hu Xiaowei, who holds passports from Cyprus, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Hong Kong and is also known by aliases including Hu Shi, Wu An Ming, and Chen Xiao’er, was sanctioned by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in October 2025 due to his links to Prince Group [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. He was arrested in Japan on June 22 on suspicion of filing a fraudulent change-of-address notification [1, 2, 3]. His connection to Prince Group includes being a shareholder of two companies tied to its founder Chen Zhi until at least 2021 and ultimate ownership of a Singapore-based family office, Future Oasis, incorporated in 2022 [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
Qiu Wei Ren was named in US sanctions issued on June 23, 2026, alongside 8 other individuals and 26 entities connected to Prince Group, including Dai An [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. He served as a director of Fly the Sky International Management, a Singapore-based consultancy with $2 million start-up capital and directors from Cambodia, China, Cyprus, and Malaysia, from 2021 to 2025 before the company became defunct [1, 2, 3].
Singapore police have seized or prohibited disposal of more than $600 million in assets linked to Prince Group since March 2026 [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. These include cash, three properties, a yacht, luxury cars, and high-end bags and watches [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Three Singapore citizens have been arrested so far on suspicion of money laundering offences connected to Prince Group [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
SPF is cooperating with international partners, including US law enforcement, in the investigation [4, 5]. The US Treasury reported Americans lost at least $10 billion in 2024 to scam operations based in Southeast Asia, a 66% increase over the previous year. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, "Scam centers in Southeast Asia steal billions of dollars from American victims each year" [6].
The next key development will be the ongoing investigation into the Prince Group network by Singapore authorities alongside international agencies following the broad US sanctions issued on June 23, 2026 [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
