Man from Sarawak syndicate jailed for harvesting Singapore bank accounts for illegal use

After obtaining an in-principle approval for his Singapore work permit application, Tan travelled to Johor Bahru with a handler, underwent a medical checkup in Singapore and went to various banks to open bank accounts.

Tan later took up an offer of a monthly salary of RM2,500 to work as a handler of money mules.

He accompanied 12 money mules from Malaysia to Singapore and in turn guided them to open 39 bank accounts using their in-principle approvals or work permit cards between May 2024 and August 2024.

Tan also helped obtain internet banking login credentials of bank accounts for the syndicate’s use.

The bank accounts were handed over to online gambling operators who used them for their illegal businesses.

According to the prosecution, his participation in the syndicate for over six months led to 70 newly-opened bank accounts at seven Singapore banks falling into the hands of the syndicate, with over S$837,000 flowing through the accounts.

Of this, almost S$43,000 was traced to reported scam cases in Singapore.

Tan earned a total of RM6,500 for his activities with the syndicate.

In August 2024, Malaysian police alerted the Commercial Affairs Department of the Singapore Police Force that Tan had been arrested with several other suspects in Johor Bahru. He was extradited to Singapore and charged.

The prosecution sought six years’ jail for Tan, along with a fine of about S$2,000.

The prosecutor said scams are a major and fast-growing concern, with the number of reported cases increasing by more than sevenfold from 2019 to 2024.

The offences were difficult to detect as the syndicate operates outside of Singapore’s jurisdiction, and targeted and misused the Ministry of Manpower’s processes on the issuance of work permits for foreign workers.

“Furthermore, the realisation and detection of such crimes generally comes much later when the bank account is used to launder benefits of criminal conduct,” said the prosecutor.

“This is long after the money mules have left Singapore, along with members involved in the syndicate like Tan, having successfully completed their criminal activities in Singapore.”

She added that one of the known co-accused suspects remains at large, and the conspiracy involves “unknown others at the higher echelons not within our jurisdiction, who continue to evade arrest to date”.

Tan’s role in the syndicate has also caused harm to the integrity and reputation of the seven Singapore banks as well as Singapore’s overall standing as a global financial hub, she added.