{{Short description|High-security storage facility in Singapore}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2024}} {{coord|1.3450|103.9691|display=title}} {{Infobox company | name = Le Freeport | logo = | type = | traded_as = | foundation = | founder = | location = Singapore | locations = | area_served = | key_people = | industry = Freeport | products = | services = | shares_in_issue = | revenue = | operating_income = | net_income = | assets = | equity = | num_employees = | divisions = | subsid = | homepage = {{URL|http://www.singaporefreeport.com}} | footnotes = }}
'''Le Freeport''', formerly known as '''Singapore Freeport''', is a high-security storage and display facility in Singapore.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/asias-fort-knox-said-to-be-up-for-sale|title=Asia's 'Fort Knox', Le Freeport in Singapore, said to be up for sale|date=19 July 2019|website=The Straits Times}}</ref> Since 2022, the facility is owned by Chinese-born Singaporean cryptocurrency billionaire Jihan Wu through his holding company Bitdeer Technologies.<ref name=wu2022>{{Cite news |first1=Ranjeetha |last1=Pakiam |first2=Chanyaporn |last2=Chanjaroen |first3=Zheping |last3=Huang |date=September 19, 2022 |title=Chinese Crypto Tycoon-Backed Bitdeer Buys Asia's 'Fort Knox' |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-09-19/chinese-crypto-tycoon-backed-bitdeer-buys-asia-s-fort-knox |publisher=Bloomberg News}}</ref> Prior to that, a majority stake was held by Natural Le Coultre S.A. of art dealer and shipper Yves Bouvier.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Le Freeport |url=http://www.singaporefreeport.com/index.php#/history |access-date=2 August 2019 |website=singaporefreeport.com}}</ref> Opened near Singapore Changi Airport in May 2010, the facility is modelled after similar institutions in Geneva and Luxembourg.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=30 September 2014 |title=The Singapore Freeport – CNPLaw LLP |url=https://www.cnplaw.com/the-singapore-freeport/ |access-date=2 August 2019 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Prystay |first=Cris |date=20 May 2010 |title=Singapore Bling |language=en-US |work=Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703691804575255551995870746 |access-date=2 August 2019 |issn=0099-9660}}</ref>
== History == The Freeport concept was pioneered by Swiss art dealer Yves Bouvier through his art shipping company Natural Le Coultre, who also founded the Freeports in Geneva and Luxembourg. Following the success of the concept in Europe, Bouvier expanded it to Asia in the early 2000s at a time when Singapore was beginning to implement a series of laws that increased banking secrecy, strengthened trusts and reduced taxes in order to develop into a global hub for private banking.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Gough |first=Neil |date=12 May 2017 |title=Singapore, a Rising Home for Quiet Money, Comes Under Pressure |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/12/business/singapore-bank-secrecy-1mdb.html |access-date=2 August 2019 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> At the same time, banking secrecy was rolled back in Switzerland, following greater scrutiny on the country's role as a tax haven.<ref>{{Cite web |date=31 January 2018 |title=Singapore is world's fifth-largest tax haven, behind HK: Report |url=https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/singapore-worlds-fifth-largest-tax-haven-behind-hk-report |access-date=2 August 2019 |website=TODAY}}</ref>
Bouvier and diamond dealer Alain Vandenborre are both shareholders in the Singapore Freeport.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ditzig |first1=Kathleen |last2=Lynch |first2=Robin M. |last3=Ding |first3=Debbie |year=2016 |title=Dynamic global infrastructure: The freeport as value chain |journal=Finance and Society |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=180–88 |doi=10.2218/finsoc.v2i2.1732 |s2cid=133484850 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=14 April 2016 |title=La Pinacothèque de Paris ferme sa filiale à Singapour |language=fr |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/arts/article/2016/04/14/la-pinacotheque-de-singapour-baisse-a-son-tour-le-rideau_4901726_1655012.html |access-date=2 August 2019}}</ref>
In 2022, the facility was purchased by Chinese-born Singaporean cryptocurrency billionaire Jihan Wu through his holding company Bitdeer Technologies for {{SGD|40 million|link=on}} (US$28.4 million).<ref name=wu2022 />
== The facility == The Freeport building was designed by architects and security experts from Switzerland.<ref name=":1" /> Owing to its security features, the facility has been described as "part bunker, part gallery"<ref name=":1" /> and "Singapore’s Fort Knox for fine art and collectibles."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Singapore's Fort Knox for fine art and collectibles |url=https://www.customs.gov.sg/~/media/cus/files/insync/issue09/features/freeport.html |access-date=2 August 2019 |website=customs.gov.sg}}</ref> The Freeport's interior features furniture by contemporary designers Ron Arad and Johanna Grawunder.<ref name=":1" /> Covering {{convert|30,000|sqm}}, the facility sports climate-controlled storage rooms.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Majendie |first=Adam |date=18 May 2010 |title=Wealthy Store Art in Singapore's Tax-Free 'Fort Knox' |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2010-05-17/wealthy-store-gold-art-inside-singapore-s-tax-free-fort-knox- |website=Bloomberg}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Selina Lum |date=30 April 2017 |title=$1.4b art row puts secretive market in spotlight |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/14b-art-row-puts-secretive-market-in-spotlight |access-date=2 August 2019 |website=The Straits Times |language=en}}</ref>
Among its most prominent corporate clients was auction house Christie's, which rented more than a third of the Freeport's storage space until it pulled out in 2018,<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=20 September 2022 |title=Crypto Tycoon Buys Yves Bouvier's Maximum Security Freeport in Singapore |url=https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/jihan-wu-yves-bouvier-freeport-singapore-1234639952/ |website=Artnews}}</ref> and Deutsche Bank, which used it to store gold bullion worth $8.9 billion but stated it is no longer a customer there.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Seward |first=Zachary M. |title=The high-security, high-concept vault where Deutsche Bank will store $9 billion of gold |url=https://qz.com/92532/singapore-gold-vault-deutsche-bank/ |access-date=2 August 2019 |website=Quartz |date=9 June 2013 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=19 July 2019 |title=Asia's 'Fort Knox', Le Freeport in Singapore, said to be up for sale |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/asias-fort-knox-said-to-be-up-for-sale |access-date=2 August 2019 |website=The Straits Times |language=en}}</ref> The Freeport has been credited as one reason, besides the government's exempting of investment-grade precious metals trading from goods and services tax, that Singapore has been slowly reclaiming its role as a physical gold trading hub.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jacqueline Woo |date=13 April 2017 |title=S'pore has key features to become Asia-Pac's global precious metals trading hub |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/spore-has-key-features-to-become-asia-pacs-global-precious-metals-trading |access-date=2 August 2019 |website=The Straits Times |language=en}}</ref> According to ''Bloomberg'', the Freeport has reportedly accumulated losses of S$14.4 million over about ten years until 2018, and any potential buyer would inherit a S$20 million debt to Singapore's largest bank, DBS Group Holdings.<ref name=":2" />
Just like the Geneva and Luxembourg facilities, the Singapore freeport has been called into question since the Bouvier Affair, in which Yves Bouvier allegedly misrepresented the cost of artworks and subsequently overcharged clients. A 2018 European Commission report also observed that freeports increased in demand as banks began fighting illegal financial activities, making them potential hotspots for financial crime.<ref>{{Cite web |date=19 February 2020 |title=Business focus: Fears grow over Chancellor's tax-lite free ports push |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/business/business-focus-fears-grow-over-new-chancellors-taxlite-free-ports-push-a4366221.html |access-date=10 April 2020 |website=Evening Standard |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=October 2018 |title=Money laundering and tax evasion risks in freeports |url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/cmsdata/15572/EPRS_STUD_627114_Money%20laundering-FINAL.pdf |website=European Parliament}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Affaire Bouvier-Rybolovlev : de l'art et des milliards - EconomieMatin |url=http://www.economiematin.fr/news-art-milliards-arnaque-vente-tableaux-encheres-redaction |access-date=23 April 2020 |website=economiematin.fr |date=25 January 2020 |language=en}}</ref>
=== Alleged role in illicit financial activities ===
==== 2013 ''Economist'' article ==== An article published by ''The Economist'' in 2013 named the Singapore Freeport as one of such facilities possibly used by ultra-rich people to evade taxes thanks to the facility's confidentiality.<ref>{{Cite news |date=23 November 2013 |title=Über-warehouses for the ultra-rich |newspaper=The Economist |url=https://www.economist.com/briefing/2013/11/23/uber-warehouses-for-the-ultra-rich |access-date=2 August 2019 |issn=0013-0613}}</ref> The Freeport denied the truthfulness of the article.<ref name="TODAY2014">{{Cite web |date=14 January 2014 |title=S'pore Freeport 'not at risk' of becoming haven for illicit activities |url=https://www.todayonline.com/business/spore-freeport-not-risk-becoming-haven-illicit-activities |access-date=2 August 2019 |website=TODAY}}</ref>
==== 2014 Monetary Authority of Singapore report ==== A 2014 National Risk Assessment Report by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) identified the Freeport as a potential risk for illicit financial activities.<ref>{{Cite web |date=10 January 2014 |title=Singapore's Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Financing of Terrorism Regime Assessed to be Robust; Controls to be Strengthened in Certain Sectors |url=https://www.mas.gov.sg/news/media-releases/2014/singapore-antimoney-laundering-and-counter-financing-of-terrorism-regime-assessed-to-be-robust |website=Monetary Authority of Singapore}}</ref> Company chairman Tony Reynard at that time denied this possibility, stating that "all operations at the Singapore Freeport are under the supervision of Singapore Customs, which can access anything at any time."<ref name=TODAY2014/> However, Freeport managers have admitted to having no knowledge of what is being stored inside the facility due to the strict policy of discretion with their clients.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bregman |first=Alexandra |title=The Bouvier Affair: A True Story |publisher=Amazon |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-7338345-7-5 |page=77}}</ref>
==== 2016 Financial Action Task Force (FATF) report ==== In its 2016 mutual evaluation report on anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing measures, the FATF identified the Freeport as "an emerging risk to consider" as it presented "a medium to high" money-laundering and terrorist-financing risk.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=September 2016 |title=Anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing measures: Singapore (Mutual Evaluation Report) |url=http://www.fatf-gafi.org/media/fatf/documents/reports/mer4/MER-Singapore-2016.pdf |website=Financial Action Task Force}}</ref> The report further noted that "The relevant authorities…did not demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of what activities were being undertaken in the Singapore Freeport."<ref name=":3" />
==== Storage of looted objects ==== In 2016, a UNESCO report on the protection of cultural heritage sites identified the Freeports in Geneva, Luxembourg and Singapore as a "possible problem for the protection of cultural property and its illicit trafficking" and warned that these facilities could be used "to store works of art from thefts, lootings or illicit excavations for resale in the black market...even many years later."<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 2016 |title=Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Property to its Countries of Origin or its Restitution in Case of Illicit Appropriation |url=http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/CLT/pdf/2_FC_free_port_working_document_Final_EN_revclean.pdf |website=UNESCO}}</ref>
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links == * [http://www.singaporefreeport.com/ Official website]
== See also == * Geneva Freeport * Luxembourg Freeport
Category:Free ports Category:Buildings and structures in Singapore Category:Tax avoidance Category:Offshore finance