Eminent Frog Porridge restaurant owner charged with evading S$3.8 million in tax, money laundering offences

Court documents allege that Buntono underdeclared his income tax from 2016 to 2024. He is also accused of underdeclaring his business income to deliberately hide his obligation to register his company for GST in the same time period, and failing to keep sufficient business records.

His alleged offences came to light after a joint investigation by the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) and the Singapore Police Force’s (SPF) Commercial Affairs Department.

Companies in Singapore must register for GST if their taxable turnover exceeds S$1 million in a calendar year or is expected to exceed S$1 million in the next 12 months, said the authorities in a separate press release on Friday.

Sole proprietors must register for GST once the combined turnover from all their businesses and income from any trade, profession or vocation exceeds or is expected to exceed S$1 million in the next 12 months, they noted.

Any business that fails to register for GST will still need to pay the tax on all their past transactions from the date the business became liable for GST registration, and it is payable even if the amount was not collected from customers, the authorities said.

Failing to register for GST is an offence, and businesses can face penalties of 10 per cent of their payable GST and fines of up to S$10,000, they added.

For making false statements or entries willfully with the intention to evade tax, an individual may need to pay triple the amount of taxes owed and be punished with a fine of up to S$10,000, up to three years’ jail, or both.

Offenders who are convicted of possessing benefits derived from criminal conduct can be punished with a fine of up to S$500,000, a jail term of up to 10 years, or both.