The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) announced on Friday (November 7th) that a Chinese businessman is involved in a major money laundering scandal. British authorities have seized dinosaur fossils, apartments, and expensive artworks worth tens of millions of pounds from the businessman.
According to the announcement posted on the NCA’s website, 37-year-old Binghai Su, a Chinese citizen currently residing in the UK, is linked to a money laundering case that took place in Singapore between 2023 and 2024. This was the largest money laundering case in Singapore’s history. On August 15, 2023, Singapore authorities deployed over 400 officers for simultaneous raids, recovering over $2 billion in criminal assets. However, Su was never charged in relation to the Singapore investigation.
In April 2025, the High Court in London issued Unexplained Wealth Orders (UWO) and Freezing Orders against Su’s assets in the UK. Su chose not to respond to the UWO but instead instructed his lawyers to apply for the revocation of the UWO and Freezing Order. A hearing regarding the revocation application was scheduled for November 5th.
On November 7th, the NCA announced that a settlement had been reached with Binghai Su and his company, Su Empire Limited, on November 5th, resulting in the confiscation of assets worth over £20 million. This included dinosaur fossils and Su’s property in London, identified as proceeds of crime.
The confiscated assets comprised three dinosaur fossil skeletons: two Allosaurus skeletons (an adult and a juvenile) and one Stegosaurus skeleton. These dinosaur fossils were collectively purchased at auction in December 2024 for approximately £12.4 million.
Other confiscated assets of Su Binghai included nine apartments in London, purchased last year for £15.7 million, and 11 Chinese artworks acquired at auction in 2022 for over £400,000.
Under the terms of the settlement agreement, the NCA will sell all identified assets, retaining 75% of the proceeds while Su Binghai will receive the remaining 25%. Su Binghai will also surrender income exceeding £340,000 generated from renting his London apartments. The total amount expected to be recovered by the UK government is estimated to be between £20 million to £21 million.
Rob Burgess, head of NCA’s Asset Confiscation Department, stated that while confiscating dinosaur fossils is uncommon, it underscores the value of the Proceeds of Crime Act, which “allows us to recover any form of suspected criminal assets, whether it’s cash, property, or dinosaur skeletons. The ultimate goal is the same: to prevent individuals from profiting from criminal proceeds.”