Brothers behind automotive business jailed for tax evasion and money laundering

SINGAPORE – Two brothers behind automotive company William’s Auto were sentenced to five to six months in jail on Sept 17 after being convicted of income tax and GST evasion offences, as well as money laundering.

The duo – Ang Ngoh Tee (William), 71, and Ang Chai Heng (Winston), 63 – were also ordered to pay a penalty of $812,795 each.

In a joint statement on Sept 17, the police and Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) said the company issued cash sales invoice for various services without charging GST, despite being GST-registered.

The company deals in the sale and purchase of new and used cars, and provides in-house car loan financing as well as car workshop services, court documents said.

Between 2013 and 2019, cash payments received from these sales were deposited into a separate and non-corporate bank account – identified in court documents as an OCBC Money Max account – to evade taxes payable by the company.

The funds in this account were then distributed among the directors broadly proportionate to their shareholdings in the company. Over the years, William received at least $2 million and Winston received at least $1 million from this account.

William’s Auto understated its net profits in its income tax returns for the years of assessment 2015 and 2016, with the wilful intent to evade tax, the police and IRAS said, adding that this resulted in $219,978 of undercharged tax.

The company’s output tax – the GST that businesses charge and collect – was also understated in its GST returns between 2013 and 2017, resulting in $50,953 in undercharged GST.

In February 2018, Winston received a cash cheque of $20,000 issued from the OCBC Money Max bank account, which he deposited into his personal bank account in June 2018.

He later issued three cheques totalling $143,845 from his personal bank account as partial payment for a car.

In May 2018, William also received a cash cheque of $20,000 issued from the OCBC Money Max bank account, which he deposited into his personal bank account on the same day. A few days later, he issued a cheque of $84,322 from his personal bank account as partial payment for a car.

Both Winston and William admitted that the payments made towards their respective cars were partially funded by their shares of the company’s undeclared cash sales.

By using these proceeds to purchase their cars, both men possessed assets that were partly funded by their benefits from wilful income tax evasion, which constitutes money laundering, the police and IRAS said.

It is an offence to conceal, disguise, convert, transfer, remove from jurisdiction, acquire, possess, or use benefits derived from criminal conduct. Offenders can be fined up to $500,000, jailed for up to 10 years, or both.

Those who wish to disclose past tax mistakes can refer to IRAS’ website for more information, while those looking to report malpractices related to tax evasion can fill in the Reporting Tax Evasion online form, provided by IRAS via FormSG.

Informants who provide information and documents that lead to a recovery of tax that would otherwise have been lost will receive a reward of 15 per cent of the tax recovered, capped at $100,000.

Calista Wong is a journalist covering breaking news and current affairs at The Straits Times. She has a special interest in lifestyle and environment-related news.