Two Men Charged Over Suspected Involvement in Government Official Impersonation Scams in Singapore

Two men, aged 30 and 37, were arrested for their suspected involvement in several cases of government official impersonation scam (“GOIS”).

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) said on Wednesday, July 30, that they received a report of GOIS involving the impersonation of a government official purportedly from the Monetary Authority of Singapore on May 17 May.

Reportedly, the victim had allegedly handed over more than S$43,000 in cash to the 30-year-old man, a cash mule, after being instructed by the scammer to do so. The victim was told that she had been implicated in an offence and was required to surrender the funds for investigative purposes.

SPF said, “Through extensive ground enquiries and follow-up investigations, officers from the Anti-Scam Command arrested the two men on July 28. The two men are believed to be accomplices who worked together in facilitating the scam syndicate to retain benefits from criminal conduct.”

“Preliminary investigations revealed that the 30-year-old man had purportedly collected the cash from the victim on behalf of the scam syndicate before handing over the cash to an unknown person. Prior to their arrest on July 28 July, the 30-year-old man had also allegedly collected S$47,000 from another scam victim before handing the cash to the 37-year-old man. The cash amounting to S$47,000 was recovered upon their arrest. The two men are believed to be involved in other similar cases,” added the police.

On Wednesday, July 30, the two men will face charges under Section 51 of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992 for abetment by conspiracy to assist another in keeping the benefits of criminal activity.

The offense is punishable by up to ten years in prison, a fine of up to half a million dollars, or both.