SINGAPORE: An Indonesian man is set to be charged with money laundering and failure to declare cross-border movement of cash on Thursday (Feb 27), after he entered Singapore with US$20,000 (S$26,800) in unreported cash.
Border security officers from the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority had on Feb 17 discovered the undeclared sum in his possession at Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal, said police on Feb 26.
Investigations revealed that the money was allegedly payment that he had picked up in Pekanbaru, Indonesia, for services provided to illegal online gambling operators.
According to findings by the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD), the 35-year-old had created and posted advertisements for illegal gambling websites on social media, targeting primarily Indonesians.
He allegedly did this between 2022 and 2025, said police.
The US dollars found on him appeared to be converted from Indonesian currency (326,000,000 rupiah) and bound for Cambodia, where it was allegedly intended to fund the advertising work, said police.
Said CAD director David Chew: “Criminals will seek to avoid bank controls and oversight by moving their illicit proceeds by cash. Having stopped and seized remote gambling proceeds flowing through our banking system, Singapore has now detected and interdicted illicit cash proceeds from an overseas crime syndicate.”
If found guilty of possession of criminal gains, he may be jailed for up to 10 years, fined $500,000, or both.
If convicted of failing to declare the cash, he may be fined up to $50,000, jailed for up to three years, or both.
Any part of the US$20,000 he was caught with may also be confiscated. - The Straits Times/ANN
