SINGAPORE – A 56-year-old woman was arrested and 179 luxury watches worth more than $1 million were seized in islandwide raids conducted by the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) on March 17.
The woman allegedly created fictitious purchases, inflated transactions and used false tax invoices to support fraudulent goods and services tax (GST) refund claims.
Seven other people from other cases are assisting with investigations, said IRAS in a statement on March 19.
Accounting records, electronic devices and other evidence linked to the alleged offences were seized by IRAS.
The raids were conducted by IRAS’ tax investigators at more than 20 business premises and residential locations as part of investigations into several suspected GST refund fraud cases.
Preliminary findings show that businesses across various industries, including logistics and wholesale trade, were identified in separate GST refund fraud cases, said IRAS. Some also involved the alleged use of shell companies to facilitate fraudulent GST refund claims.
