(Bloomberg) -- Singapore authorities said they may lift orders barring the sale of some properties seized in a S$3 billion ($2.2 billion) money laundering probe, paving the way for the first transactions from the record haul. 

More than a dozen shophouses — highly coveted among investors — have been put on the market since December, according to public listings, with DBS Group Holdings Ltd. stepping up efforts to reduce about S$100 million in exposure it has to the scandal. The country’s biggest lender had sought permission to repossess and sell the properties that were used as collateral to get loans from the bank, the Singapore Police Force said on Friday in response to queries from Bloomberg News. 

“The police will lift the prohibition of disposal order against the properties, for DBS to exercise its contractual rights, when we are satisfied that the sale is conducted fairly,” it said in a statement. 

The shophouses are owned by companies linked to two individuals of interest, Su Binghai and Su Fuxiang, who are at large. The orders had been issued as part of the probe accusing a group of mostly China-born individuals of laundering the proceeds of their overseas organized crime activities. Ten were arrested in raids across the island last August.

“We are basically foreclosing and trying to sell the property” by appointing receivers to do so, DBS Chief Executive Officer Piyush Gupta said Wednesday when asked about the matter at an earnings briefing. “Once they sell the property, we can get our money back, that’s all that’s happening.”

Net sale proceeds after repayment of the loan and relevant fees would be seized by the police after the sale is completed, and dealt with by the courts at the conclusion of the case, the police said.

Including the shophouses, more than 200 properties ranging from commercial assets to luxury homes have been seized in the probe.

--With assistance from Chanyaporn Chanjaroen.

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