A man, Muhammad Zahir Johana, was sentenced to nine years in prison and three strokes of the cane, with an additional 450 days added to his sentence for breaching remission. Zahir’s offences included drug use, possession of a dangerous weapon, and allowing corporate bank accounts to be set up under his name to facilitate scam proceeds. The man, who was under a remission order when he committed these offences, was also convicted of consuming a specified drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act, possessing a controlled drug, and possession of an offensive weapon.
Ten other charges, including possession of a controlled drug and drug utensils, failure to report for mandatory urine tests, and criminal intimidation, were taken into consideration during sentencing. The Singapore Police Force (SPF) stated that they take a serious view of scams and related money laundering activities and will not hesitate to take stern enforcement actions against individuals who commit these offences.
According to CNA, Zahir was the director of two companies, Imcomz Trade and Infra Tradez, which received S$18 million (US$13.2 million) in scam proceeds in December 2021 from email impersonation scams that targeted foreign companies. Zahir had set up both companies for a promised reward of S$20,000 after getting to know an unidentified person from a Telegram group called SG Black Market Hire. He relinquished his Singpass credentials to facilitate the incorporation of both companies and the opening of corporate bank accounts that were used to receive criminal benefits.
Investigations showed that Zahir had reasons to believe that the unidentified person was engaged in criminal conduct. However, he failed to exercise reasonable diligence in the discharge of his duties as a director of both companies. As a result, about S$18 million in criminal benefits were transferred to the companies’ corporate accounts.
The SPF also warned that there is a need to deter offenders from using Singapore’s financial system as a conduit for illicit funds as it affects Singapore’s reputation as an international financial centre.