41 suspected money mules in Singapore to be charged over alleged involvement in various scams

The Star

01-06-2025

Many of the suspects were promised a commission of up to $9,000 for their bank or Singpass accounts, but were never paid. - Photo: Singapore Police Force
SINGAPORE: Forty-one people are expected to be charged in the coming week for allegedly acting as money mules or allowing related activities in a variety of scams.
The 32 men and nine women, aged between 16 and 64, are suspected of being involved in scams such as government official impersonation scams, rental scams, job scams, fake friend call scams and e-commerce scams.
Between June 2 and 6, the 41 suspects are expected to be charged with various offences, such as helping another person retain the benefits from criminal conduct in certain circumstances, and abetment to cheating.
Other offences include allowing unauthorised access to computer material, and illegally disclosing passwords or access codes to Singpass, the national digital identity service.
Among the suspects, 35 are accused of having relinquished or sold their bank accounts and enabling criminal syndicates to commit money laundering.
Some allegedly tricked banks into opening personal accounts before handing over the ATM cards and iBanking credentials to unknown people.
Another group of suspects is believed to have unlawfully disclosed their Singpass credentials, enabling criminal syndicates to misuse their identities to open bank accounts.
Many of the suspects were promised a commission of up to $9,000 for their bank or Singpass accounts, but were never paid.
Those convicted of assisting another person to retain the benefits from criminal conduct or cheating can be jailed for up to three years, fined, or both.
Anyone found guilty of facilitating unauthorised access to computer material for the first time can be jailed for up to two years, fined, or both.
If convicted of illegally disclosing passwords or access codes for Singpass, the suspects can be jailed for up to three years, fined, or both.
To avoid being implicated in such crimes, the police urge the public to always reject requests by others to use their bank or Singpass accounts.
The public should also be wary of seemingly attractive money-making opportunities that promise fast and east payouts for the use of these personal accounts.
'Anyone who allows their personal bank accounts to be used to receive and transfer money for others will be held accountable if these transactions are linked to crimes,' the police said.
For more information on scams, the public can visit www.scamshield.gov.sg or call the ScamShield Helpline on 1799.
Anyone with information on scams can call the police hotline on 1800-255-0000 or submit the information online at www.police.gov.sg/i-witness
Scam victims in Singapore lost $1.1 billion in 2024, marking a record high amount of losses suffered in a single year.
This is around 70 per cent higher than the $651.8 million that scammers took in 2023, according to police figures released on Feb 25.
Police also saw a record high number of scam reports in 2024, with 51,501 cases recorded, compared with 46,563 cases in the previous year.
A total of 230 money mules were charged between August 2024 and March 2025, under tougher sentencing guidelines introduced on Aug 21, 2024.
All adult offenders charged during this period were handed jail terms of at least six months, while those aged below 21 were sent for reformative training, said the police. - The Straits Times/ANN