Director of Tradeluxury charged in multimillion dollar luxury goods scam

Yap Lee Peng Somchai, a 30 year old Singaporean, was charged in court on August 21 for money laundering and failing to exercise reasonable diligence in her duties as a director of Tradeluxury. Yap allegedly transferred 35,000 Singapore dollars from the company bank account to another person on May 30, 2022, which prosecutors claim represented benefits from criminal conduct. Her case is scheduled to be mentioned again in court on September 18.

Tradeluxury and a sister company, Tradenation, were at the center of a luxury goods scam where customers paid in full for pre ordered luxury bags and watches that were never delivered. The mastermind, Thai national Pansuk Siriwipa, and her husband, Pi Jiapeng, were previously convicted and jailed. Pansuk received a 14 year sentence in October 2024, while Pi was sentenced to five years and 10 months in October 2025.

Court documents and police reports indicate that the companies faced financial difficulties by early 2022. Despite a deficit of nearly 9 million Singapore dollars by the end of March 2022, Pansuk continued to accept orders, using funds from new customers to fulfill earlier orders or for personal luxury expenses. These expenses included a Chevrolet Corvette and a 58,000 Singapore dollar private jet flight. The total amount of the ruse is estimated at 32 million Singapore dollars, with over 180 police reports lodged by victims.

During the investigation, Pansuk and Pi fled Singapore to Malaysia by hiding in the container compartment of a lorry. They were arrested in Malaysia on August 11, 2022, and returned to Singapore. In a recent update, the Singapore Police Force stated that Thai authorities provisionally seized several properties in June. The Commercial Affairs Department is currently helping victims consolidate claims for the potential recovery of these assets.