Former Singaporean Naval Captain Steals $1.7 Million in USDT from Friend, Sentenced to 6 Years and 10 Months’ Imprisonment

According to Lianhe Zaobao, Zhang Rongxuan (35), a former captain of Singapore’s elite naval diving unit, entered his friend’s apartment using a previously retained access card while the friend was away. He located the friend’s cold wallet recovery phrase inside a wardrobe, took photos of it, and subsequently stole 1.7 million USDT (approximately S$2.3 million) stored by the friend. The illicit proceeds were used to purchase luxury watches, fund gambling activities, and repay his home loan—of which gambling losses alone totaled over S$1.56 million. Following the incident, a blockchain security firm successfully traced the stolen funds to the defendant’s wallet. The defendant admitted committing the offense after suffering massive losses due to the collapse of FTX. He faced a total of 16 charges and pleaded guilty to six of them. On Friday, May 8, he was sentenced to six years and ten months’ imprisonment at the State Courts.