Seven charged after they allegedly sold bank accounts to criminals

SINGAPORE: Five men and two women were charged in court on Jan 11 over their suspected involvement in money mule activities, including cheating and facilitating unauthorised access to computer materials.

They are Edda Lin Wenqing, 19, Caleb Sho Khai Lok, 20, Muhamad Farmirul Muhamad Farhan, 20, Marcus Lim You Hwee, 28, Raza Iskandar Ashghar Masih, 35, Lim Kim Heng, 44, and Preeta Nivashani M Rechnam, 52.

The police said on Jan 10 that the accused individuals allegedly sold or rented their bank accounts to criminal syndicates for as much as S$3,000.

They are believed to have deceived banks into opening accounts before handing over the ATM cards and Internet banking PINs to criminal syndicates.

Marcus Lim You Hwee and Lim Kim Heng also allegedly sold their Singpass credentials to criminal syndicates to create new bank accounts.

According to court documents, Lim Kim Heng allegedly sold his Singpass information to an unknown person on messaging platform Telegram for $500.

It was not stated in charge sheets how much Marcus Lim You Hwee received for his alleged actions.

The police said they take a serious view of these offences and will not hesitate to take action against individuals who may be involved in scams.

“To avoid being an accomplice to crime, members of the public should always reject seemingly attractive money-making opportunities promising pay-outs for the use of their Singpass account or bank accounts, or allow their personal bank account to be used to receive and transfer money for others,” said the police.

Those found to be linked to such crimes will be held accountable, the police added.

In 2022, more than 7,800 people were nabbed for money mule offences.

Between January and June 2023, more than 4,700 people were arrested or investigated for being money mules.

Those convicted of cheating may be jailed for up to three years and fined.

The offence of facilitating unauthorised access to computer material carries a jail term of up to two years, a fine or both.

The cases of the seven accused will be heard again in February. - The Straits Times/ANN