The Gift That Never Was
It seems the S$23.8 million bungalow deal at Lakeshore View in Sentosa Cove last year had fallen through. The property sits on 8,576 sq ft of land and has a balanced lease term of 89 years at the time of the option.
Zhang Min, the China businesswoman who had inked the deal in October 2015 and lodged a caveat for the property in November did not complete the purchase.
A Gift Nonetheless By Defaut
It is supposedly reckoned that S$1.19 million or 5% deposit of the purchase price would have been forfeited with the default. It's pretty good money for a 3-month default.
The sellers, three siblings from a Hong Kong family, two of whom are British citizens and the third, a Singapore citizen are now on the lookout for a new buyer for the bungalow which fronts the Serapong Golf Course and overlooks the sea.
The ponzi scandal in China
As the story goes, Zhang Min, the Chinese businesswoman in the Sentosa Villa default, was arrested by the Chinese authorities for her involvement in the Ezubao ponzi scandal in China
Launched in July 2004, Ezubao one of China's biggest Internet peer-to-peer (P2P) lenders had amassed over 50 billion yuan (S$10.8 billion) from an estimated 900,000 investors.
When Ezubao's fraud came to light late last year, executives buried 80 bags of documents in a six-meter hole on the outskirts of Hefei in Anhui province, where the company originated from.
It was reported that the company have fabricated most of the projects on its website and paid old debts with money from new investors.
Xinhua reported that it was executives from Yucheng Group, the parent company of Ezubao, who spilled the beans, saying that it was a "complete Ponzi scheme" that used monies raised from investors to support a lavish lifestyle.
Among the gifts were a S$20 million Singapore villa, a US$1.8 million pink diamond ring, luxury limousines and watches and more than US$83 million in cash which the chairman of Yucheng Ding Ning gave to Zhang, who was Ezubao’s president.
News of the Q4 S$23.8 million or S$2,775 psf Lakeshore View transaction last year boosted sentiment in the generally quiet waterfront housing district. Of course the relatively high psf price also help.