Man gets jail, fine over US$8.3 million money laundering case

SINGAPORE: A Vietnamese-American man who laundered millions of dollars in Singapore was sentenced to 19 months’ jail and fined S$239,065 (US$186,300) on Thursday (Aug 28).

Nguyen Duy Khiem, 61, was convicted of three counts of money laundering, said the Singapore Police Force (SPF) in a news release on Thursday. 

Between 2018 and 2019, he entered into arrangements with various overseas call centres promoting fake investments to potential investors. 

Khiem assisted the call centres in receiving the fraudulent proceeds from investors and transferring them to overseas bank accounts, said the police. 

He set up multiple companies in Singapore and used their corporate bank accounts for these fraudulent activities. 

In 2019, he arranged for two Vietnamese women, Hoang Dinh Phuong Thao and Hoang Thi Thuy Hang, to incorporate two companies - Kaloca Asia and Wellington York Partners - respectively in Singapore. 

The man also arranged for the two women to set up the companies’ bank accounts. 

“Despite being the directors and authorised signatories of the companies, Thao and Hang did not have any actual control, as all operations and bank accounts were managed by Khiem,” said the police. 

Between December 2019 and October 2020, the bank accounts of Kaloca and Wellington received a total of US$457,500 and over US$7.8 million, respectively. All these funds were derived from overseas investment scams, said the police. 

Khiem received commissions of more than US$1 million from his arrangements with the call centres.

Investigations revealed that transactions made from Kaloca and Wellington’s bank accounts were layered to avoid raising suspicion, with false invoices generated to justify these transactions to financial institutions. 

Khiem was convicted of two counts of money laundering under Section 47AA of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act (CDSA).

He was also convicted of one count of money laundering under Section 47(3) of the same Act. 

Anyone convicted of an offence under Section 47AA may be jailed for up to three years, fined up to S$150,000, or both. 

Anyone convicted under Section 47(3) may be jailed for up to 10 years, fined up to S$500,000, or both.

"The police take a serious stance against any person involved in the laundering of proceeds of crime," said SPF.

"These criminal acts compromise the integrity of Singapore’s financial system. To ensure that Singapore remains a safe and trusted place for business and finance, the police will take tough enforcement action against such perpetrators, who will be dealt with in accordance with the law."