Debated in Parliament on 14 Feb 2023.
Mr Yip Hon Weng asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) in the past year, what have been the most common penalties for money mules who sold control of their bank accounts or Singpass login details for the purpose of scams and money laundering activities; (b) whether most of these offences by money mules have been voluntary or coerced by crime syndicates; and (c) whether the penalties for scam abetting offences can be increased as a deterrent.
Money mules who knowingly give up control of or sell their bank accounts or Singpass login details for the purposes of scams and money laundering activities will be investigated by the Police. They may be prosecuted in Court for offences under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Offences (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992 (CDSA), the Penal Code 1871 (PC), the Computer Misuse Act 1993 (CMA) or the Payment Services Act 2019 (PSA).
Examples of offences for which these money mules may be liable include transferring the benefits from criminal conduct, cheating or the disclosure of a password for wrongful gain or any unlawful purpose.
As each case is assessed on its unique facts and circumstances, the penalties for such cases vary. For example, a man was sentenced to nine months' jail on 10 January 2023 under the CDSA for selling his bank account which was later used in various scams. In another example, a man was sentenced to four weeks' jail on 25 January 2023 under the CMA for selling his Internet banking details to an unknown person, which was later used in love scams.
Depending on the offences, the maximum penalties are as follows:
(a) Under CDSA – for individuals, a fine of up to $500,000 or imprisonment for up to 10 years or both;
(b) Under PC – imprisonment for up to three years, or fine, or both;
(c) Under CMA – a fine of up to $10,000 or imprisonment for up to three years or both, in the case of a first conviction;
(d) Under PSA – a fine of up to $125,000 or imprisonment for up to three years or both.
Those who sell their bank accounts or Singpass login details usually do so of their own volition, enticed by the commissions and monetary benefits.
Money mules facilitate the perpetration of scams. To fight scams more effectively, we need to prevent and deter individuals from acting as money mules. Today, a large number of the money mules arrested by the Police cannot be prosecuted due to difficulties in proving their intent to facilitate the scams. In short, the issue is not with the penalties in our current laws, but our laws need to be enhanced to make it easier to make out money laundering offences in such scam cases.
The Ministry of Home Affairs is therefore looking into amending our laws to strengthen our ability to deal with money mules.
We will be introducing new provisions and penalties to the CDSA to impose obligations on individuals to exercise greater accountability and vigilance when transferring money on behalf of others.
We are also looking at introducing new provisions to curb the abuse of Singpass. We will provide more information when ready.
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