SINGAPORE — A 19-year-old was on Monday (Sept 9) charged with allegedly giving his Singpass account details to an unknown person for a promised sum of S$3,000. It is understood that bank accounts opened using the details were used to allegedly launder S$500,000 in criminal proceeds.

Amaanul Rahman, a Singaporean, allegedly gave his details to the unknown person over Telegram chat application after being told that he would receive S$3,000 in return. Court documents did not state whether he did receive the payment in the end.

In court on Monday, Amaanul indicated that he intends to plead guilty to the charge.

Amaanul is among 40 people aged between 18 and 43 who are expected to be charged this week with offences connected to scam-related money mule activities, the police said in a statement on Sunday.

These offences fall under stricter legislation that came into force on Feb 8 this year, aimed at deterring people from giving details of their bank accounts or Singpass to others, who can then use them to commit scams and launder criminal proceeds.

Singpass is the digital gateway to the personal identification data of Singapore residents, allowing them to access e-services.

One case highlighted by the police — which TODAY understands to be Amaanul’s — involves a person allegedly giving a stranger access to his Singpass account “in response to an offer for fast cash”.

“His identity was used to open four bank accounts and to launder more than S$500,000 of criminal proceeds,” the police said in their statement.

In a separate case, a bank account holder allegedly handed over the control of the account to a stranger. The account was then used to launder more than S$300,000 in criminal proceeds.

Amaanul’s case is set to return to the State Courts on Oct 7.

The police urged members of the public to avoid being an accomplice in crimes and follow these precautionary measures with regard to their bank or Singpass accounts:

• Do not disclose payment and Singpass accounts and credentials to others
• Do not let anyone else access, operate or control one’s payment accounts
• Do not receive or transfer money on behalf of others using one’s own payment accounts, unless you know the person and their whereabouts
• Do not ask for the Singpass credentials of another person
• Do not share or offer to share with others the Singpass credentials of another person