Singaporean scammer gains S$3.56 million from phony investments, freely transports huge cash in and out of SG

Singaporean Muhamad Aidith Abdul Latiff, 44 years old and the former director of a corporate training services company, allegedly scammed 29 people between February and August 2016 as he engaged them in fraudulent investments amounting to S$3.56 million. Aidith was charged in court on Aug. 22, 2019.

His “investment scheme” promised investors a 97% ROI and they were compelled to hand over to him cash from about S$1,000 to more than S$1.5 million each.

Money laundering charges

Aidith is also charged of smuggling cash in and out of Singapore between S$30,000 and S$50,000 through the Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints between June 2015 and March 2016. He is facing 26 counts of failing to declare cross-border movement of cash.

If convicted, he can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined for each charge, unfortunately, Aidith is currently unrepresented and told the court he intends to find a lawyer to represent him.

He is now out on S$80,000 bail and will return to court on Sept. 12.

Reported scamming crimes in 2018

Last year, the total number of reported crimes increased by 1.4% or 33,134 cases, compared to the 32,668 cases committed in 2017.

E-commerce, loan, credit-for-sex and China officials impersonation scams, “remain a concern”, with the total number of scam cases which increased by 20.6%.

Loan scams increased by 151%, from 396 cases in 2017 to 994 cases in 2018. The largest amount cheated in a single case was nearly S$90,000.

The total amount cheated in e-commerce scams increased to about S$1.9 million in 2018 and the largest amount cheated in a single case was close to S$69,000.

Seventy per cent of the e-commerce scams took place on the online marketplace Carousell, police said, and involved electronic products and tickets to attractions like Universal Studios Singapore.

According to Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Esh Jegadeeshwaran Wadarajan, “Most scammers think they are very smart,” in a CNA interview he added that many of these “smart” scammers would already expect to be caught eventually and are prepared. “They all have a story to tell … to make themselves appear as victims too.”