Porridge shop owner faces tax evasion, laundering charges

The court handed down 30 charges in total, comprising three counts of money laundering and 27 counts of tax-related offences.

Buntono, a Singaporean, had allegedly understated his trade income for assessment years 2016 to 2024, resulting in close to $2 million of income tax being undercharged.

He is said to have separately perpetuated fraud by deliberately concealing the liability of his businesses to be registered for Goods & Services Tax (GST), which resulted in an undercharging of about $1.8 million in GST.

In a joint statement, the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore and the Singapore Police Force said that the two agencies had launched a joint probe into the case.

Failure to register for GST is an offence and businesses may face penalties of 10 per cent of GST and fines of up to $10,000, said the agencies.

For each count of money laundering, an offender can be jailed for up to 10 years, fined up to $500,000, or both.

Buntono’s case will be mentioned again in court in August.