Luxury watches seized during a $3 billion money laundering crackdown in Singapore will start being auctioned in November.
Hotlotz, which is handling the sale of all assets accrued during the criminal investigation, has not yet provided detailed descriptions of the watches, but has provided a gallery of the first 13 lots.
The first tranche, judging from pictures now live online, includes a contemporary rose gold Patek Philippe perpetual calendar chronograph 5270R-001, a platinum Patek Philippe 5270P-014 perpetual calendar with green dial, a white gold Patek Philippe Nautilus 5740/1G-001 perpetual calendar, and a white gold Vacheron Constantin Métiers d’Art Ajourées.
The city state’s reputation as one of the world’s safest and most tightly regulated financial centres was shaken in August 2023 when more than 400 police officers launched coordinated raids on some of its most exclusive residential addresses.
The operation uncovered luxury property, supercars, gold bars, designer handbags, jewellery and watches from some of Switzerland’s most prestigious manufacturers, all paid for by the proceeds of money laundering used to conceal illegal online gambling and other criminal activity.
Seized assets including real estate and jewellery have been sold at auction over the past nine months, and sales of luxury watches will begin on November 9 in a series of timed online auctions run by Hotlotz that are expected to continue through to the end of the year.
The watches have been consigned by Deloitte Singapore SR&T Restructuring Services Pte Ltd, which has been handling the seized assets, and the proceeds are being paid to the Singapore government.
