EXCLUSIVE: Montenegro Will Extradite Convicted Money Launderer to China

Montenegro will extradite a man convicted in one of Asia’s largest-ever money laundering cases to his native country of China, where he is wanted for allegedly running illegal gambling operations.

Wang Shuiming has lost his appeal against extradition from Montenegro, a court in the capital of Podgorica told OCCRP’s local member center, MANS.

“The defendant’s attorney filed an appeal against the aforementioned decision, which was rejected as unfounded,” said Ivana Vukmirović, a spokesperson for the Podgorica High Court, in an email.

Wang Shuiming was arrested in Singapore in August 2023 for his role in a money laundering syndicate that cleaned at least $2.3 billion of illicit funds from illegal gambling and online fraud. He was convicted in May 2024, and deported from Singapore to Japan the following month.

Wang Shuiming arrived in the Montenegrin city of Tivat on January 28, on a private jet chartered from the Maldives. Montenegrin authorities said he entered the country on a Vanuatu passport, and that he was arrested on an international warrant issued by China.

Wang Shuiming’s reasons for travelling to Montenegro are unknown, but corporate records show that he registered a real estate company in the country called Bright Sky Limited in December 2024. 

That company does not appear to own any property in Montenegro. Corporate records show that Wang Shuiming has a firm in Hong Kong that owns an apartment there, which is worth more than $11 million.

OCCRP has previously reported on luxury property held by members of the Singapore money laundering syndicate in London and Dubai. 

Other than his Hong Kong apartment, which has not previously been reported, Wang Shuiming’s investments are unknown. Reporters were not able to contact him as his Montenegrin lawyer’s name has not been made public. 

Singaporean authorities confiscated about $147 million from him, as proceeds of crime laundered by the syndicate.

In addition to Chinese and Vanuatu citizenship, Wang Shuiming holds passports from Turkey and Cambodia. 

OCCRP has documented Wang Shuiming’s corporate links to the alleged mastermind behind a fraudulent Hong Kong-based crypto exchange that collapsed in 2022.