Nagore Trading Pte Ltd (Nagore), a Singapore-incorporated GST-registered firm, allegedly supplied high-value electronic items worth roughly S$114 million to various entities between February 2015 and January 2016, with GST being levied on these sales.
NAGORE TRADING PTE. LTD. was incorporated on 20 December 2014 (Saturday) as a Exempt Private Company Limited by Shares in Singapore.
Shell Company
Nagore is said to be a shell firm with no genuine business operations that were used to produce purchase orders and sales invoices to support the exporters’ later GST refund requests. IRAS received GST refund claims totalling close to S$8 million stemming from Nagore’s claimed transactions.
Nagore’s fraudulent operations are claimed to be the work of four persons, each of whom has been charged with being a knowing party to a fraudulent enterprise and forgery of sales invoices under Section 340(5) of the Companies Act and Section 465 of the Penal Code.
For the offence under Section 340(5) of the Companies Act, they face up to seven years in jail or a fine of up to S$15,000, or both, if convicted, and for the charge under Section 465 of the Penal Code, they face up to four years in prison or a fine of up to S$15,000, or both, if convicted. A fifth guy was also accused under Section 465 of the Penal Code for allegedly helping two of the Nagore criminals in committing crimes.
A fifth guy was charged with forgery under Section 465 of the Penal Code for allegedly helping two of the forgers operating out of Nagore. If convicted, he may face a sentence of up to four years in jail, a fine, or both.
Buy non existent goods
A sixth man, the director of two GST-registered Singapore companies, Ten Directions Enterprises Pte Ltd (Ten Directions) and Forte Communications Pte Ltd (Forte Communications), has also been charged with falsifying accounts under Section 340(5) of the Companies Act and Section 477A of the Penal Code.
He is accused of facilitating the fraud by permitting the two firms to buy products from Nagore that did not exist.
For the offense under Section 340(5) of the Companies Act, he faces up to seven years in jail, a fine, or both if convicted, and for the charge under Section 477A of the Penal Code, he risks up to ten years in prison, a fine, or both if convicted.