A 38-year-old Singaporean man was charged in court on Saturday, March 14, for his suspected involvement in a government official impersonation scam that resulted in losses of more than S$920,000.
According to the police, the man is believed to have abetted by conspiracy to possess or use property obtained from criminal conduct. Investigations indicate that he allegedly played a role in handling valuables linked to the scam.
The case first came to light after a woman lodged a police report on February 10. She told officers that she had received a call from an unknown person claiming to be from a bank, who informed her that a credit card had been issued under her name.
When the victim said that she did not hold such a card, the call was transferred to another person who claimed to represent the Ministry of Law, and later to someone posing as an officer from the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
The victim was subsequently told that she was allegedly implicated in a money laundering investigation. To "assist" with the investigation, she was instructed to hand over her valuables for safekeeping.
Believing the claims to be legitimate, the woman handed over gold items and luxury watches valued at more than S$920,000 on two separate occasions to individuals who collected the items. She later realised that she had been scammed and reported the matter to the police.
The preliminary investigations revealed that the accused had allegedly received valuables from unknown individuals on several occasions. Police suspect these items may be linked to a transnational scam syndicate, and he may also be connected to other similar cases.
The man was arrested on March 13 after officers from the Anti-Scam Command, Tanglin Police Division and the Police Operations Command Centre conducted extensive ground enquiries and follow-up investigations.
During the operation, officers seized more than S$92,500 in cash, a cash counting machine and three mobile phones as part of the investigation.
If convicted of abetting by conspiracy to possess or use property derived from criminal conduct, the man could face a jail term of up to three years, a fine of up to S$150,000, or both.
