A high-rolling gambler is out over half a million dollars after failing to convince Australian authorities that a family-run brothel was the source of his wealth.
On Monday, a New South Wales court sentenced Singapore national San Wei Koh to six months in prison for dealing with property suspected of being the proceeds of criminal activity. Koh will likely be deported once his sentence has been served.
According to the Newcastle Herald, Koh arrived in Australia in April 2015, at which time he declared to customs agents that he wasn’t carrying more than $10k in Australian money. But one week after his arrival, he deposited $300k into a safety deposit box Sydney’s The Star casino. The day after that, he deposited another $700k.
Koh proceeded to gamble a little and made some significant withdrawals before The Star staff alerted police to Koh’s sketchy behavior. Police found $600k remaining in Koh’s safety deposit box and took him in for questioning.