Indonesian man allegedly used 28 counterfeit S$10,000 notes at S'pore casino, tried to use 6 more & got caught

An Indonesian businessman is assisting with investigations in Singapore after he allegedly used 34 counterfeit S$10,000 notes at the Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) casino in June 2026, The Straits Times reported.

News of the incident has been picked up by Malaysian media and gaming trade publications.

The businessman was identified only as Steven.

Counterfeit notes allegedly used successfully

A bulk of the notes were reportedly accepted, deposited in the casino account, and even exchanged for casino chips before they were detected as counterfeit, ST reported.

Steven had made three visits to the casino in total.

An account of what allegedly happened was recounted by Steven's Jakarta-based lawyer to ST.

The lawyer's position was that his client had used the counterfeit banknotes unknowingly and is a victim of fraud.

Steven claimed that the notes were payment he received for a shophouse he was selling in South Tangerang, a satellite town to Jakarta.

The lawyer said a police report has been filed with the South Tangerang police in Indonesia.

What Steven claimed happened

Steven claimed he had been introduced to a man, Anthony, through a friend.

The friend was identified only as Rangga.

Jun. 8

Anthony gave Steven a S$10,000 note at a cafe in Jakarta and claimed that he wanted to exchange the note as it was old.

Rangga reassured Steven that the note was found to be genuine at an OCBC branch in Indonesia

Jun. 9

Steven flew to Singapore on Jun. 9.

A money changer declined the note as the denomination was too large.

A VIP host Steven was introduced to at RWS suggested exchanging the note at the casino.

This was after Steven did not want to open a bank account just for the purpose of exchanging currency.

The note was allegedly verified and exchanged for casino chips.

Jun. 11

Steven returned to Jakarta and met with Anthony on Jun. 11.

Anthony handed Steven 33 S$10,000 notes.

He claimed it was inheritance money and said he wanted smaller denominations.

Anthony also told Steven that he wanted to buy a shophouse that Steven was selling for 4.5 billion rupiah (S$322,000).

But Anthony would only pay Steven when he returned to Jakarta with smaller denominations of the Singapore currency.

Jun. 12

Steven travelled to Singapore on Jun. 12 and deposited 27 of the 33 notes into his casino account.

Six other notes remained at his home in Indonesia.

Jun. 22

Steven used the six notes he kept in Jakarta as payment towards a house in Pamulang, Banteng province.

But the seller's daughter could not get the notes exchanged in Jakarta.

Jun. 26

Steven flew to Singapore with his wife, children, and the seller’s daughter with the intention of exchanging the S$10,000 notes for smaller denominations at the casino.

He took part in a baccarat tournament at RWS that afternoon and was stopped by casino security and police.

The serial numbers on some of the six notes matched some of the 28 notes from his two earlier trips, he was told.

Steven is to remain in Singapore for up to six months as investigations are pending.

He faced the prospect of being investigated for not declaring the large sum of cash he had and for putting counterfeit money into circulation.

Victim of fraud?

The lawyer said Steven is a victim of fraud.

When Steven previously asked Anthony to travel to Singapore together to collect the money, Anthony apparently declined and claimed that he did not have a passport and had business to attend to in Indonesia.

No more S$10,000 issued

The S$10,000 banknote was first issued in 1973 and discontinued in 2014.

The S$1,000 note has not been issued since 2021.

In a statement in 2020, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said the discontinuation of the notes was to mitigate money laundering and terrorism financing risks.