A 40-year-old Singaporean man has been convicted for offences including the laundering of fraudulent value-added tax (VAT) refunds, the police said on Saturday.
Some time in December 2020, Kelvin Ng Wai Wah was recruited by Alan Yeo, a co-accused Singaporean, to travel to London to collect fake jewellery, and claim VAT refunds amounting to €12,035 (S$17,800) for them.
Ng then flew back to Singapore with the refund amount.
Upon his arrival, he failed to declare that he was carrying currency whose value exceeded the prescribed amount under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act, or CDSA, into Singapore.
Ng delivered the VAT refunds of €12,035 to Yeo.
On Monday, Ng was convicted of one count of intentionally aiding Yeo to launder the VAT refunds, as well as one count of importing components of an imitation tobacco product.
For these offences, he was convicted and sentenced to three months and two weeks’ jail, as well as a $2,000 fine.
He also consented to having four other charges, including one count of failing to declare that he was carrying into Singapore physical currency whose value exceeded the prescribed amount under the CDSA, to be taken into consideration for sentencing.
For aiding Yeo to launder the fraudulent VAT refunds, Ng could have been fined up to $500,000, or jailed for up to 10 years, or both.
For failing to declare that he was carrying into Singapore physical currency whose value exceeded the prescribed amount under the CDSA, Ng could have been fined up to $50,000, jailed for up to three years, or both. (StraitsTimes)