SINGAPORE: A high-ranking member of a sophisticated syndicate has confessed to orchestrating a massive exploitation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) scheme in Singapore.
Ang Chee Keong, 48, has pleaded guilty to charges of cheating GST and has been sentenced to five years and eight months in jail.
GST Scam
The intricate GST scam involved the forgery of 183 sales invoices, which falsely inflated the sales of Nagore Trading to over $56 million.
This deception laid the groundwork for nearly $8 million in fraudulent tax claims, with the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras) unwittingly paying out more than $772,000 to the perpetrators.
The scheme, described by prosecutors as a “paper exercise,” was masterminded by Singaporean Luke Giam Zi Hin, 40, and Vietnamese Trinh Tien Dung. The duo utilized Nagore Trading as a front from Feb 4, 2015, to Jan 28, 2016, to perpetrate their elaborate fraud.
Ang, a Singaporean, was recruited to join the scheme in 2014, which involved the creation of shell companies that would issue forged invoices, simulating sales and purchases that never occurred.
Between Feb 4, 2015, and May 27, 2015, Ang and his accomplices forged 106 sales invoices, purportedly from Nagore, to deceive authorities.
The syndicate’s activities came to a halt in January 2016 as they feared an increased risk of detection. However, Ang’s criminal endeavours did not end there. He was also involved in a phishing scam targeting unsuspecting individuals in Singapore’s Central Business District.
Rising cyber threats, tax systems-related crime
Using an “SMS Blaster” mounted in a car, Ang and his co-conspirators sent deceptive SMS messages, posing as a bank, to lure victims into revealing their bank card details.
The police quickly thwarted the scheme, but not before Ang and his accomplices extracted $120 from one victim and 50 cents from another.
The sentencing of Ang Chee Keong serves as a stark reminder of the lengths to which some individuals will go to exploit tax systems and engage in cybercrime.
The authorities have made it clear that such criminal activities will be met with severe legal consequences, reinforcing Singapore’s commitment to maintaining the integrity of its financial systems.