Four charged over scheme to smuggle gold from China in electronic devices
The multinational money laundering scheme allegedly allowed a syndicate to fraudulently obtain export VAT (Value Added Tax) refunds in China.
File photo of gold bars. (Photo: iStock)
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SINGAPORE: Three men and a woman were charged on Wednesday (Jul 8) over their alleged involvement in a multinational money laundering scheme involving gold smuggling and fraudulent tax claims.
The accused, aged between 60 and 63, are Seow Choon Pheng, Seow Choon Lien, Chu Tung Wu and Tan Kui Moi.
They allegedly ran three Singapore-registered businesses – Macropac System, Megaspeed Services and Seg Metallic Electronics Trading – that imported signal converters from two suppliers operated by a criminal syndicate in China. Signal converters are often used to convert data between incompatible systems.
Under the alleged scheme, gold was concealed within signal converters supplied by the syndicate and exported to Singapore at inflated prices, while being declared to Chinese authorities as high-tech products.
This allowed the syndicate to fraudulently obtain export VAT (Value Added Tax) refunds in China.
Upon arrival in Singapore, the signal converters were dismantled and the gold extracted and sold, while the mainboards were sent back to China via Hong Kong companies for reassembly into subsequent shipments.
“This facilitated the transfer of the fraudulently obtained VAT refunds to the Hong Kong-based mastermind through payments for these mainboards,” Singapore police said in a media release on Wednesday.
“This carousel-like arrangement allowed the criminal syndicate to perpetuate the scheme by creating a paper trail of sham transactions disguised as legitimate trades.”
The Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) uncovered the scheme after receiving information about a possible VAT carousel fraud in November 2020.
Investigations were conducted in collaboration with Singapore Customs and Chinese law enforcement authorities.
CAD director Peggy Pao said Singapore remains vigilant against criminal syndicates seeking to launder illicit proceeds through Singapore.
“We greatly appreciate the close collaboration between CAD and our Chinese counterparts in this case, which enabled us to disrupt the syndicate’s sophisticated operations and prosecute the case,” she added.
Those found guilty of money laundering face up to 10 years’ jail, a fine of up to S$500,000 (US$387,000) or both.
Those convicted of carrying on a business for a fraudulent purpose may be jailed for up to seven years, fined up to S$15,000, or both.
Separately, directors who fail to exercise reasonable diligence in discharging their duties may face up to 12 months’ jail or a fine of up to S$5,000, and may be disqualified from acting as directors.
Source: CNA/bg(gs)
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