An Indonesian couple attempted to exchange S$10,000 notes for chips at a casino in Singapore, which then led to a fake currency syndicate being busted in Indonesia.

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) said on Feb. 1 that four Indonesian men were arrested following a joint investigation by Singapore's Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) and the Indonesian National Police.

SPF was alerted to the case on Sep 21, 2023.

What happened

The couple was told that the first note they had was fake.

The man then produced another S$10,000 note for verification.

The casino held on to the two notes and handed them over to CAD for investigation, which shared the information with Indonesian police.

It was discovered that the couple had travelled from Batam to Singapore on the same day, and the two notes were received from their business associate in Batam as payment for a business transaction.

The couple wanted to use the notes at the casino for gambling, the police said.

No further action was taken against the couple, as "there was insufficient evidence to suggest that the couple were aware that the notes they were in possession of were counterfeit", the police said, which acted after consulting with the Attorney-General’s Chambers.

Indonesian authorities conducted three raids in Riau and West Java provinces between Nov. 15 and 20, 2023.

Arrests made in Indonesia

Three Indonesian men, aged 39 to 48, were arrested for their suspected involvement in counterfeiting and distributing banknotes.

A total of 390 allegedly fake S$10,000 banknotes were seized.

Indonesian police then arrested the fourth man, a 51-year-old Indonesian, SPF said.

Issuance of notes with large denominations stopped

Singapore previously announced in 2014 that it will stop issuing S$10,000 notes, one of the world's most valuable banknotes, to tighten its anti-money laundering controls.

In 2020, it stopped issuing S$1,000 notes to pre-empt money laundering and terrorism financing.

What to do if you receive a fake banknote

- Call the police at 999 immediately

- Note the description of the person who presented the counterfeit note, including gender, race, age, height, built, clothing, tattoo and language/ dialect spoken

- Note the description of the vehicle used, if any, including its registration number

-Limit the handling of the suspected counterfeit note and place it in a protective covering, such as an envelope, to prevent further tampering

- Hand the note over to the police as soon as possible

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