A VACANT plot of land in Sentosa Cove, acquired in 2021 by one of the 10 foreigners arrested in the S$3 billion money laundering case, did not manage to secure a buyer at the close of an auction on Wednesday (Apr 24). 

Ten parties registered for the auction for 69 Ocean Drive, which was held at Amara Singapore. 

The 99-year leasehold Sentosa Cove site, which was advertised at a guide price of S$27.1 million or S$1,386 per square foot (psf), was put on the block by OCBC. Su Baolin had taken a loan from the bank to finance his purchase of the house in 2021.

At Wednesday’s auction, only one bid was placed, at S$20 million. The bid was not accepted as it was below the site’s reserve price, said Joy Tan, executive director of auctions and sales at Edmund Tie, which conducted the auction. 

“The property will be withdrawn, and we will wait for the bank’s instructions for the next steps we will take,” Tan said. 

Generally in an auction, if a property is withdrawn, interested bidders can still make offers, and these will be consolidated and presented to the bank, she added. 

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An OCBC spokesperson said: “The outcome of the first sales exercise for 69 Ocean Drive at today’s auction is not unexpected, given the size of the property and current market sentiment. There was serious interest expressed by a few people, and conversations are ongoing. We will continue with the process to recover the overdue loans.”

According to court documents seen by The Business Times, Su took a loan of S$19.5 million from OCBC for his purchase. He had also incurred over S$220,000 in credit card payments.

The property was among hundreds of residential and commercial units seized by police, after an August 2023 raid and subsequent investigations uncovered over S$3 billion worth of assets believed to be acquired with illicit funds.

Banks, including OCBC and DBS, have since started the process of recovering funds owed from mortgages extended on properties connected to the case.   

In January 2024, OCBC obtained a court judgement to recover the overdue home loan through the sale of Su’s Sentosa Cove plot.

BT reported in 2021 that Su bought the Ocean Drive property for slightly over S$39.33 million, or nearly S$2,012 psf based on the land area of 19,550 sq ft.

He bought the villa from fruit and vegetable tycoon Lim Chin Huat. The villa was one of fewer than 10 sea-facing bungalows on Sentosa Cove with a land area exceeding 18,000 sq ft.

Su subsequently submitted plans to build a two-storey detached house with a swimming pool. The existing house has been demolished and the site is now vacant. 

The site has about 80 years left on its 99-year lease which began in July 2005.

Su faces 13 charges including forgery and making false representations to the authorities. One of the charges concerns a 13th floor unit Su had purchased at Gramercy Park in Orchard. 

When declaring his source of funds, Su allegedly claimed he was a director of a company known as Great Trillion Technology in Hong Kong, and had received dividends and drawn a director’s salary as well as received fees totalling about S$5.1 million since 2016.

On Wednesday, Su was back in court and indicated he plans to plead guilty. 

The new buyer can build a house on the Ocean Drive plot, which will have unobstructed views of the sea and Central Business District, said Edmund Tie. 

The rectangular plot has a wide frontage of 39 metres and a depth of up to 50 metres. The buyer can also seek approval to sub-divide the plot to build smaller detached units.

Recent transactions in Ocean Drive include a 8,765 sq ft detached house which was sold for S$16 million, or S$1,844 psf in February this year. A 7,577 sq ft bungalow along Ocean Drive changed hands at S$18.5 million, or S$2,442 psf in March 2023.