On Apr. 4, a 39-year-old man was arrested for his suspected involvement in money laundering offences, linked to a S$10.2 million Covid-19-related scam.

According to the Singapore Police Force (SPF), through quick intervention and close collaboration with seven local banks, the police's Anti-Scam Centre managed to recover S$6.4 million of the amount scammed, which is the biggest single recovery since the formation of the centre.

An overseas company was defrauded, with the ill-gotten gains transferred to Singapore

In mid-March 2020, the police was alerted to a case of an overseas pharmaceutical company, which was defrauded of 6.636 million euros (around S$10.2 million) after it tried to purchase surgical masks and hand sanitisers.

The money was transferred to a local bank, but the items were not delivered, and the supplier became uncontactable.

Through investigations, the man who had received the monies was identified by officers from the Commercial Affairs Department, and was arrested on March 25, 2020, after returning from overseas to Singapore.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the man had acquired the ill-gotten monies and removed part of them out of Singapore.

Investigations against the man are currently ongoing for multiple offences, and the man is liable for a fine not exceeding S$500,000, or to an imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years, or both.

Top image from Unsplash.