Tradenation luxury goods scam: Tradeluxury director charged with money laundering
Thai authorities provisionally seized several properties in June, with Singapore’s Commercial Affairs Department helping victims consolidate claims for their potential recovery.
The director of Tradeluxury, a company tied to a multimillion-dollar luxury goods scam, has been charged with money laundering. (Photos: Instagram/@tradeluxurysg)
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SINGAPORE: The director of a company tied to a multimillion-dollar luxury goods scam was charged on Friday (Aug 21) with money laundering and failing to exercise reasonable diligence in her duties.
Singaporean Yap Lee Peng Somchai, 30, was a director of Tradeluxury, one of two companies at the centre of the Tradenation luxury goods scam. She was also an authorised signatory of Tradeluxury’s bank account.
Somchai faces one charge of transferring property while having reasonable grounds to believe that it represented benefits from criminal conduct.
She was also charged with failing to exercise reasonable diligence in the discharge of her duties as a company director.
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Between May and August 2022, police received 187 reports against Tradeluxury and Tradenation, with customers alleging that the companies failed to fulfil orders for luxury watches and bags despite receiving full payment.
Thai national Pansuk Siriwipa, the main decision-maker for both companies, and her Singaporean husband Pi Jiapeng have already been convicted and jailed over their roles in the case.
Providing an update on the case, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said several properties in Thailand were provisionally seized by the Thai Anti-Money Laundering Office in June following extensive collaboration with Singapore’s Commercial Affairs Department (CAD).
“CAD is facilitating the consolidation of victims’ claims for the potential recovery of these properties, subject to Thailand’s laws and legal processes,” SPF added.
Victims who had previously lodged police reports in relation to the case have been contacted, SPF said.
THE CASE
Tradenation sold luxury watches, while Tradeluxury sold luxury bags, largely on a pre-order basis.
When customers placed orders, they had to make full payment before the companies procured and delivered the goods.
By late 2021 or early 2022, Tradenation began experiencing difficulties with overseas suppliers because of shipment delays and other issues.
Tradeluxury encountered similar challenges when it started operations in January 2022 and both companies began making losses.
By February 2022, Pansuk knew the companies might not be able to fulfil their orders because they did not have sufficient funds.
However, she continued taking orders, using payments from new customers to buy goods to fulfil earlier orders.
Pansuk knew that most of these orders would incur losses as she was buying from local sellers and selling to customers at a price lower than the cost.
The companies had a deficit of nearly S$9 million (US$7.1 million) by the end of March 2022.
Pansuk continued taking pre-orders until June 2022, cheating 166 victims of more than S$12 million.
Despite the companies’ losses, the couple lived a lavish lifestyle funded with money from their businesses.
While under investigation, Pansuk and Pi fled Singapore by hiding in a lorry’s container compartment while crossing Tuas Checkpoint. They were arrested in Malaysia on Aug 11, 2022, and handed over to the Singapore Police Force.
Pansuk was sentenced to 14 years’ jail in October 2024, while Pi was jailed for five years and 10 months in October 2025.
Source: CNA/rl(sz)
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