On 18 July 2023, a 39-year-old man and director of a Singapore-registered company (“Company”) was charged with offences of money laundering, engaging in a conspiracy to cheat the bank, and failing to exercise reasonable diligence in the discharge of his duties as a director of the Company.
Investigations revealed that two overseas victims were defrauded into transferring USD 296,689.66 to the Company’s bank account in March 2021. The man had allegedly provided his SingPass credentials to unknown third parties for the incorporation of the Company and conspired to deceive a local bank into opening a corporate bank account for the Company, based on the belief that he would be the operator of the account. The man also allegedly failed to supervise the affairs of the Company, which led to its receipt of criminal proceeds.
Under Section 417 of the Penal Code, offenders convicted of cheating may be liable to an imprisonment term of up to three years and a fine.
Under Section 157(1) of the Companies Act, offenders convicted of failing to use reasonable diligence in the discharge of duties as a director may be liable to an imprisonment term of up to 12 months, a fine not exceeding $5,000. Under Section 154(2)(b) read with Section 154(4)(a) of the Companies Act, offenders may also be disqualified from acting as a director for up to five years.
The Company was also charged with two counts of possessing property reasonably suspected to be benefits from criminal conduct under Section 47AA(1) of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation Of Benefits) Act (“CDSA”).
Under Section 47AA(1) of the CDSA, offending companies convicted of possessing property that may be reasonably suspected of being benefits of criminal conduct may be liable to a fine not exceeding $300,000.
The Company’s director is also facing other unrelated charges.
Members of the public are advised not to use their personal or company bank account to receive funds from unknown sources. Individuals should also not be a director of a company when they have limited or no oversight or control, as the company may be used for illegal purposes such as the laundering of criminal proceeds. To avoid being an accomplice to crimes, members of the public should always reject requests by others to use their bank accounts as they will be held accountable if the bank accounts are linked to crimes.
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
19 July 2023 @ 7:20 PM