『Singapore』 money laundering, corruption, drug trafficking, confiscation of benefits 2024.11.5-11.5

Former Company Director Sentenced To 28 Months’ Jail For Money Laundering Offence

On 5 November 2024, 41-year-old Chen Binjue (“Chen”) was sentenced to an imprisonment term of 28 months for one count of an offence under Section 44(1)(a) of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act (“CDSA”), punishable under Section 44(5)(a) CDSA.

Investigations by the Commercial Affairs Department revealed that Chen was a director of Dionysuss Lifestyle Pte Ltd (“Dionysuss”) and Singapoints Pte Ltd (“Singapoints”). In April 2019, Chen got involved in a scheme with a money laundering syndicate with unknown individuals from the People’s Republic of China. As part of the arrangement, Chen agreed to allow Dionysuss’ and Singapoints’ bank accounts in Singapore to be used to receive the syndicate’s monies, when she had reasonable grounds to believe the syndicate was engaged in criminal conduct and that its monies were benefits of criminal conduct.

As a result of Chen’s arrangement with the syndicate, Dionysuss’ corporate bank account received S$1,277,192.47 from a foreign corporate victim of a phone impersonation scam on 26 June 2019. A transfer of S$296,639.00 was made from Dionysuss’ corporate bank account to an overseas bank account the next day. The funds were successfully recalled by the bank and the victim recovered the funds.

Chen also faced cheating charges for deceiving the corporate service provider of Dionysuss and Singapoints with information she knew to be false to intentionally induce the corporate service provider to lodge filings with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority, and charges of forgery for the purpose of cheating by submitting forged documents to the bank to justify the receipt and subsequent outflow of funds from Dionysuss’ corporate bank account. These charges were taken into consideration for the purpose of sentencing.

Under the CDSA, the offence of entering into an arrangement, knowing or having reasonable grounds to believe that, by the arrangement, the retention or control by or on behalf of another of that other person’s benefits from criminal conduct is facilitated, and having reasonable grounds to believe that that other person is a person who engages in or has engaged in criminal conduct, carries a punishment of up to ten years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to $500,000, or both.

The Police will not hesitate to take stern enforcement action against persons who knowingly allow their bank accounts to be used by scammers to receive monies and launder the proceeds of crime. The Police take a serious stance against such perpetrators to deter these offenders from using Singapore’s financial system as a conduit for illicit funds as it affects Singapore’s reputation as an international financial centre.

PUBLIC AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
05 November 2024 @ 6:15 PM

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借出账户收百万赃款涉洗钱 女老板监28个月
2019年4月，被告与中国的洗钱集团勾结，明知集团从事犯罪活动且资金是犯罪所得，仍同意让名下公司在本地的银行账户用于接收集团款项。

女老板将名下公司账户提供给犯罪集团接收超过127万元赃款，被判坐牢28个月。

中国籍被告陈彬珏（41岁）是本地永久居民，她星期二（5日）承认一项贪污、贩毒和其他严重犯罪（没收利益）的罪名，其余包括欺骗以及伪造文件在内的八项控状交由法官下判时一并考虑。

她于2016年创办了公关与活动策划公司“Dionysuss”，2018年成立另一家公司“Singapoints”。

2019年4月，被告与中国的洗钱集团勾结，明知该集团从事犯罪活动且资金是犯罪所得，仍同意让名下公司在本地的银行账户用于接收集团款项。同年6月25日，英国国际数据公司（IDC UK）一名总监成为电话诈骗受害者，骗子冒充其上司称公司要进行“业务收购”，安排一名“律师”与他联系。

受害者照指示将95万2000美元（约127万新元）转入“Dionysuss”的马来亚银行账户。6月27日，一笔29万6639元被转入名为New Ginwa的香港公司。马来亚银行发现该款为非法所得，即冻结账户并要求返还资金。

被告发现账户被冻结，联系银行获悉需要提供交易文件。她之后伪造多张发票提供给银行。

2019年底，被告与一名叫Wilson Ho的人商量，承诺每月支付2000元，让他成为Dionysuss的董事，并答应如果资金解冻，他将获得一部分钱。被告也以他名义委托律师，向商业事务局发函，提供两张伪造的收据，要求释放资金。2020年8月12日，商业事务局下令Dionysuss账户中超过127万元的赃款退还英国国际数据公司。

控方指此案涉及跨国犯罪且金额巨大。法官判被告坐牢28个月。