SINGAPORE, Aug 22 — A director of a company linked to Singapore’s multimillion-dollar luxury goods scam has been charged with money laundering, as authorities move to recover properties in Thailand that could potentially compensate victims.

Local news site CNA reported that Yap Lee Peng Somchai, 30, was charged yesterday with transferring property while having reasonable grounds to believe it represented benefits from criminal conduct, as well as failing to exercise reasonable diligence as a company director, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said.

She was a director of Tradeluxury Pte Ltd, which operated primarily as an online reseller of luxury bags, and was also an authorised signatory of its bank account, SPF said.

Between May and August 2022, police received 187 reports alleging that Tradenation Pte Ltd and Tradeluxury failed to deliver luxury watches and bags despite receiving full payment, SPF said.

The two companies were at the centre of a scam that saw customers pay upfront for goods that were not delivered, according to CNA.

Thai national Pansuk Siriwipa, the main decision-maker for both companies, was sentenced to 14 years’ jail in October 2024, while her Singaporean husband Pi Jiapeng, a director of the companies, was jailed for five years and 10 months in October 2025, SPF said.

The case has now taken an international turn, with Thailand’s Anti-Money Laundering Office provisionally seizing several properties in June following cooperation between Thai authorities and Singapore’s Commercial Affairs Department (CAD), SPF said.

“CAD is facilitating the consolidation of victims' claims for the potential recovery of these properties, subject to Thailand’s laws and legal processes,” the police said.

SPF said CAD had contacted victims who previously lodged police reports in relation to the case.

CNA reported that Tradenation sold luxury watches while Tradeluxury sold luxury bags, largely through a pre-order model that required customers to pay in full before the goods were procured.

By early 2022, both companies were facing difficulties with suppliers and mounting losses, CNA reported.

CNA reported that Pansuk continued accepting orders despite knowing the companies might not have enough funds to fulfil them, using payments from newer customers to fund earlier orders.

The companies had accumulated a deficit of nearly S$9 million (RM27.7 million) by the end of March 2022, while Pansuk continued taking pre-orders until June that year, CNA reported.

CNA reported that 166 victims were cheated of more than S$12 million (RM37 million).

The couple later fled Singapore by hiding in a lorry’s container compartment while crossing Tuas Checkpoint, before being arrested in Malaysia on Aug 11, 2022 and handed over to Singapore police, CNA reported.

Pansuk was sentenced to 14 years’ jail in October 2024, while Pi was sentenced to five years and 10 months in October 2025.

The latest charge against Somchai does not amount to a conviction, and her case remains before the courts.