Josephine Teo on amendment bills for tougher laws to tackle money mules, Singpass abusers
Making it easier to prosecute money mules and those who abuse Singpass credentials for scams - that is the aim of two Bills that were put up for debate in Parliament on Monday (May 8). Giving details, Second Minister for Home Affairs Josephine Teo told the House that the authorities must do everything they can to prevent scams from harming Singaporeans, and that includes recognising the limitations of current laws which make it hard to take money mules and Singpass abusers to task. This is because it is challenging to prove wrongful intention and offenders have been able to evade prosecution by simply claiming ignorance. Mrs Teo said that between 2020 and 2022, more than 19,000 money mules were investigated by the police but fewer than 250 were eventually prosecuted. The amendments being proposed set guardrails on the use of bank and Singpass accounts and empower the police to act more effectively against those who blatantly ignore these guardrails, and commit or allow abuse that ends up perpetrating scams and other crimes. To target money mules, Mrs Teo gave details of three new offences which will be introduced - rash money laundering, negligent money laundering and assisting another person to retain benefits from criminal conduct - as well as the penalties these will incur. It will also be an offence for a Singpass user to disclose their Singpass credentials if they know or have reasonable grounds to believe that the purpose is to commit or facilitate commission of an offence. The Bill also criminalises the acts of obtaining, retaining or dealing in another person’s Singpass credentials. Both offences will apply and Singapore courts will have jurisdiction over them, even if they are committed outside the country. This is because most scam syndicates operate from overseas. The minister emphasised that there is no intention to criminalise situations where there is a genuine need to share credentials for legitimate transactions. The proposed amendments are being made to the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act and the Computer Misuse Act.
Making it easier to prosecute money mules and those who abuse Singpass credentials for scams - that is the aim of two Bills that were put up for debate in Parliament on Monday (May 8). Giving details, Second Minister for Home Affairs Josephine Teo told the House that the authorities must do everything they can to prevent scams from harming Singaporeans, and that includes recognising the limitations of current laws which make it hard to take money mules and Singpass abusers to task. This is because it is challenging to prove wrongful intention and offenders have been able to evade prosecution by simply claiming ignorance. Mrs Teo said that between 2020 and 2022, more than 19,000 money mules were investigated by the police but fewer than 250 were eventually prosecuted. The amendments being proposed set guardrails on the use of bank and Singpass accounts and empower the police to act more effectively against those who blatantly ignore these guardrails, and commit or allow abuse that ends up perpetrating scams and other crimes. To target money mules, Mrs Teo gave details of three new offences which will be introduced - rash money laundering, negligent money laundering and assisting another person to retain benefits from criminal conduct - as well as the penalties these will incur. It will also be an offence for a Singpass user to disclose their Singpass credentials if they know or have reasonable grounds to believe that the purpose is to commit or facilitate commission of an offence. The Bill also criminalises the acts of obtaining, retaining or dealing in another person’s Singpass credentials. Both offences will apply and Singapore courts will have jurisdiction over them, even if they are committed outside the country. This is because most scam syndicates operate from overseas. The minister emphasised that there is no intention to criminalise situations where there is a genuine need to share credentials for legitimate transactions. The proposed amendments are being made to the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act and the Computer Misuse Act.
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