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2 men to be charged after allegedly giving up Singpass details, bank accounts that helped launder close to S$1m

SINGAPORE — In a bid to make some quick money, two men allegedly gave away their Singpass details in exchange for cash after they responded to advertisements on social media, and in selling their bank accounts, they helped criminals launder nearly S$1 million.

2 men to be charged after allegedly giving up Singpass details, bank accounts that helped launder close to S$1m
  • Two men responded to advertisements to make quick cash
  • They allegedly gave their Singpass details and “sold” their bank accounts to people they did not know
  • In doing so, they helped to launder at least S$982,000 in criminal proceeds
  • The men, aged 25 and 19, will be charged on March 21

SINGAPORE — In a bid to make some quick money, two men allegedly gave away their Singpass details in exchange for cash after they responded to advertisements on social media, and in selling their bank accounts, they helped criminals launder nearly S$1 million.

The men, one aged 25 and the other 19, will be charged next Monday (March 21) for the offences.

In their media release on Friday, the police did not disclose how much the men made in return, though details of what the men reportedly did were roughly similar.

The men’s names, nationalities or their relation to each other were also not revealed, or whether more than one syndicate was involved.

In their investigations, the police found that the 19-year-old came across advertisements last year on Instagram, whereas the 25-year-old saw the ad on mobile messaging application Telegram. Both ads offered respondents a way to earn cash in exchange for their Singpass details.

Singpass is the national identity authentication system that allows users to verify their identity when they log in or sign up to use digital services by the Government or private sector organisations.

In the case of the 19-year-old, his Singpass details were used by a criminal syndicate to open three bank accounts with Citibank and CIMB.

These bank accounts were then used to launder criminal proceeds amounting to more than S$77,000.

The police said the young man was also allegedly approached by a member of a scam syndicate on Telegram to sell his bank account.

He later created a Standard Chartered Bank account and relinquished control of the bank account to the syndicate.

In another offence, he allegedly relinquished his personal United Overseas Bank account to an online gambling syndicate in exchange for cash.

The police would like to advise the public that disclosing Singpass login details and relinquishing bank accounts to other persons can constitute offences under the Computer Misuse Act.
The Singapore Police Force

As for the 25-year-old, his Singpass details were used to register a Standard Chartered Bank account in his name.

The account was then used to launder criminal proceeds amounting to more than S$850,000, including money collected from a job scam.

The police said that he will face another charge because he allegedly sold his OCBC bank account “in return for fast cash” to a member of another syndicate with whom he became acquainted on Telegram in September 2021.

This OCBC account was used to launder criminal proceeds amounting to S$55,000.

In all, at least S$982,000 was allegedly laundered because of what the two men reportedly did.

"The police would like to advise the public that disclosing Singpass login details and relinquishing bank accounts to other persons can constitute offences under the Computer Misuse Act.

“Crime syndicates may make use of the disclosed Singpass log-in details to access the Singpass accounts and open bank accounts, which are then used to launder the proceeds of crime,” they said.

To avoid becoming involved in money-laundering activities, the police also said that members of the public should “always reject requests to disclose their Singpass log-in details or allow their personal bank accounts to be used to receive and transfer money for others”.

Under the Computer Misuse Act, anyone found guilty of disclosing his or her Singpass log-in details may be fined up to S$10,000 or jailed up to three years, or both. This is for offences related to unauthorised disclosure of access codes.

Under the same Act, anyone convicted of relinquishing his or her bank account may be fined up to S$5,000 or jailed up to two years, or both. This is for offences related to the unauthorised access of computer material

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