Latest news with #CommercialAffairsDepartment
Malay Mail
13 hours ago
- Malay Mail
Singapore police: More than 200 suspected scammers, money mules under investigation in SS$3.89m probe
SINGAPORE, June 20 — Over 220 individuals are being investigated by police for their alleged roles in scam operations that caused victims to lose more than S$3.89 million (RM12.87 million). The suspects — 153 men and 70 women, aged between 15 and 89 — are believed to be linked to more than 790 scam cases, police said in a statement yesterday, as reported by The Straits Times. The scams include friend impersonation, investment, job and e-commerce scams, as well as cases involving fraudsters posing as government officials or advertising fake rental properties. The arrests followed a two-week island-wide enforcement operation conducted from June 6 to 19 by officers from the Commercial Affairs Department and the seven police land divisions. Police said the suspects are being investigated for offences including cheating, money laundering and providing unlicensed payment services. Those convicted of cheating can face up to 10 years in jail and a fine. The penalty for money laundering is up to 10 years' imprisonment, a fine of up to S$500,000, or both. Providing payment services without a licence carries a jail term of up to three years, a fine of up to S$125,000, or both.
Straits Times
a day ago
- Straits Times
223 people under investigation over scams involving more than $3.89m in losses
The suspects are aged between 15 and 89. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI 223 people under investigation over scams involving more than $3.89m in losses SINGAPORE - Some 223 people , suspected to be scammers or money mules, are assisting the police with investigations over scam cases in which victims lost more than $3.89 million. The suspects - comprising 70 women and 153 men , aged between 15 and 89 - are believed to be involved in more than 790 cases of scams , said the police in a statement on June 19. The cases comprise mainly friend impersonation scams, investment scams, job scams, e-commerce scams, government official impersonation scams and rental scams. The suspects were caught during a two-week operation from June 6 to 19 that was conducted by officers from the Commercial Affairs Department and the seven police land divisions. They are being investigated for the alleged offences of cheating, money laundering or providing payment services without a licence, said the police. For the offence of cheating, those found guilty may be jailed for up to 10 years and fined . If found guilty of money laundering, they may be jailed for up to 10 years , fined up to $500,000 , or both . Those found guilty of providing payment services without a licence in Singapore may be jailed for up to three years , fined up to $125,000 , or both . The police advise members of the public to reject any requests by others to use their bank account or mobile lines, or they may become an accomplice to crimes and will be held accountable. For more information on scams, members of the public can visit or call the ScamShield Helpline on 1799. Anyone with information on scams may call the police hotline on 1800-255-0000 or submit information online at Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Straits Times
4 days ago
- Straits Times
Woman who spent over $262,000 using stolen credit card credentials arrested while trying to buy jewellery
Woman who spent over $262,000 using stolen credit card credentials arrested while trying to buy jewellery A 48-year-old woman was arrested for her suspected involvement in making unauthorised transactions of more than $262,000 using another person's credit card credentials. The police said they received several reports on June 11, from victims of Government Official Impersonation Scams (GOIS) who were deceived by scammers posing as staff members from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Money belonging to the victims was purportedly transferred to a credit card, which was then used to make unauthorised transactions. Through follow-up investigations, officers from the Commercial Affairs Department established the identity of the credit card owner and discovered that he was also a victim of a GOIS. He had been instructed to apply for a credit card and handed the credit card credentials to the scammer. The credit card was eventually traced to a 48-year-old woman, who was arrested on June 14 while attempting to make a purchase at a jewellery store. Preliminary investigations revealed that the woman had allegedly provisioned the credit card credentials on her mobile phone app and made several fraudulent purchases of gold bars and jewellery, with the intention of handing them over to the scammers. The woman will be charged in court on June 16 with abetment by conspiracy to commit cheating, which carries an imprisonment term of up to 10 years and a fine. The police advise merchants and sales staff to be vigilant and adopt correct card acceptance procedures when processing credit or debit card transactions. They should look out for the name and security features on the card face and contact their processing bank immediately for advice if they detect anything suspicious. Credit or debit cardholders are advised to call their card-issuing banks immediately if they notice any discrepancies or if their cards are lost or stolen. You should also not give out card details to strangers, and adopt measures such as activating SMS notifications for charges and checking your bank statements. For more information on scams, visit or call the ScamShield helpline at 1799. Anyone with information on such scams may call the police hotline at 1800-255-0000 or submit information online at All information will be kept strictly confidential. Click here to contribute a story or submit it to our WhatsApp Get more of Stomp's latest updates by following us on:
New Paper
16-05-2025
- Business
- New Paper
Jail for woman over conspiracy to unlawfully transport $450k to S'pore; cash turned out to be fake
Two Indonesian women worked together in a plan to bring cash totalling $450,000 into Singapore without informing the authorities, but the 45 pieces of $10,000 notes later turned out to be counterfeit. One of the women, Sofia Martha, 51, was sentenced to two months' jail on May 15 after she pleaded guilty to one count of engaging in a conspiracy to move into the country more than $20,000 in cash without alerting the Singapore authorities in January. The case involving her alleged accomplice, Col Vinna, 33, is pending. Deputy Public Prosecutor Michelle Tay told the court that the cross-border cash reporting procedure is intended to be a tool of detection and prevention. She added: "Its purpose is to guard against Singapore's financial system from being abused by insidious criminal syndicates for money laundering and other illicit purposes." She said Sofia could not credibly substantiate the source of the notes and had given officers from Singapore's Commercial Affairs Department inconsistent accounts on why they were brought into the country. She initially told them that a man known only as Mr Purwatnomo had asked her to help him change the orchid series of the Singapore dollar notes to rupiah. She claimed that there was no agreement for her to earn any commissions for helping him. But in her second statement, Sofia said she wanted to bring the notes to Singapore to sell as they were "an old series of currency notes worth more than their face value". She recanted her earlier account, stating that the plan was not to exchange the notes to rupiah. "The accused stated that she had agreed with Mr Purwatnomo that the profit she earned from selling the notes would be used to set up an oil and gas trading company in Singapore, at Jurong Island," said DPP Tay. However, Sofia later stated that Mr Purwatnomo had given her the notes as an "investment" for her to open a company here, and that he also let her decide if she wanted to change the money to rupiah. She claimed that she agreed to exchange the money and contacted a friend, known only as "Saleh" to ask him if he had any contacts who could help her. According to Sofia, he introduced her to Col and the two women spoke for the first time via a video call on Jan 2. The DPP said the pair agreed that Col would receive a commission of $12,000 if she succeeded in exchanging the money. On Jan 2, Sofia and Col met in a Jakarta hotel at around 10.30pm. The next day, Sofia handed Col 45 pieces of the notes. They boarded a plane and arrived in Singapore at around 8.30am on Jan 3. The DPP said Col tried to deposit the money at banks in Singapore, with plans to later withdraw the cash in smaller denominations. Court documents do not disclose the identities of the people who owned the bank accounts. The court heard that when she failed to do so, she engaged a Singaporean friend's help to open a bank account and deposit three of the $10,000 notes. When the friend tried to deposit the cash, bank officers saw that the notes looked unusual, and the police were alerted. All 45 pieces of the notes turned out to be counterfeit and officers seized them from Col, who had accompanied her friend to the bank branch that day. Court documents do not disclose what happened next, but Sofia and Col were charged in court later. On May 15, DPP Tay urged the court to sentence Sofia to two months' jail, adding: "If the offence was completed, it would in fact have brought counterfeit notes of a significant amount… into circulation in Singapore, and would have resulted in the laundering of those counterfeit notes." The prosecutor also said that Sofia had outsourced the risk to someone else, stressing that even though she might not have known that the money was counterfeit, her culpability was high in attempting to bring notes of a suspicious nature into Singapore.
Straits Times
16-05-2025
- Straits Times
Jail for woman over conspiracy to unlawfully transport $450k to S'pore, cash turned out to be fake
Jail for woman over conspiracy to unlawfully transport $450k to S'pore, cash turned out to be fake SINGAPORE – Two Indonesian women worked together in a plan to bring cash totalling $450,000 into Singapore without informing the authorities, but the 45 pieces of $10,000 notes later turned out to be counterfeit. One of the women, Sofia Martha, 51, was sentenced to two months' jail on May 15 after she pleaded guilty to one count of engaging in a conspiracy to move into the country more than $20,000 in cash without alerting the Singapore authorities in January. The case involving her alleged accomplice, Col Vinna, 33, is pending. Deputy Public Prosecutor Michelle Tay told the court that the cross-border cash reporting procedure is intended to be a tool of detection and prevention. She added: 'Its purpose is to guard against Singapore's financial system from being abused by insidious criminal syndicates for money laundering and other illicit purposes.' She said Sofia could not credibly substantiate the source of the notes and had given officers from Singapore's Commercial Affairs Department inconsistent accounts on why they were brought into the country. She initially told them that a man known only as Mr Purwatnomo had asked her to help him change the orchid series of the Singapore dollar notes to rupiah. She claimed that there was no agreement for her to earn any commissions for helping him. But in her second statement, Sofia said she wanted to bring the notes to Singapore to sell as they were 'an old series of currency notes worth more than their face value'. She recanted her earlier account, stating that the plan was not to exchange the notes to rupiah. 'The accused stated that she had agreed with Mr Purwatnomo that the profit she earned from selling the notes would be used to set up an oil and gas trading company in Singapore, at Jurong Island,' said DPP Tay. However, Sofia later stated that Mr Purwatnomo had given her the notes as an 'investment' for her to open a company here, and that he also let her decide if she wanted to change the money to rupiah. She claimed that she agreed to exchange the money and contacted a friend , known only as 'Saleh' to ask him if he had any contacts who could help her. According to Sofia, he introduced her to Col and the two women spoke for the first time via a video call on Jan 2. The DPP said the pair agreed that Col would receive a commission of $12,000 if she succeeded in exchanging the money. On Jan 2, Sofia and Col met in a Jakarta hotel at around 10.30pm. The next day, Sofia handed Col 45 pieces of the notes . They boarded a plane and arrived in Singapore at around 8.30am on Jan 3. The DPP said Col tried to deposit the money at banks in Singapore, with plans to later withdraw the cash in smaller denominations. Court documents do not disclose the identities of the people who owned the bank accounts. The court heard that when she failed to do so, she engaged a Singaporean friend's help to open a bank account and deposit three of the $10,000 notes. When the friend tried to deposit the cash, bank officers saw that the notes looked unusual and the police were alerted. All 45 pieces of the notes turned out to be counterfeit and officers seized them from Col, who had accompanied her friend to the bank branch that day. Court documents do not disclose what happened next but Sofia and Col were charged in court later. On May 15, DPP Tay urged the court to sentence Sofia to two months' jail, adding: 'If the offence was completed, it would in fact have brought counterfeit notes of a significant amount... into circulation in Singapore, and would have resulted in the laundering of those counterfeit notes.' The prosecutor also said that Sofia had outsourced the risk to someone else, stressing that even though she might not have known that the money was counterfeit, her c ulpabilit y was high in attempting to bring notes of a suspicious nature into Singapore. Shaffiq Alkhatib is The Straits Times' court correspondent, covering mainly criminal cases heard at the State Courts. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
