Alleged syndicate mastermind charged; accused of running money laundering, scam ops in Singapore

SINGAPORE - An alleged syndicate mastermind accused of coordinating money laundering operations in Singapore was charged on Sept 23 with engaging in a conspiracy to help others retain crime benefits.

Chin Hock Khan, 27, a Malaysian man whose nickname is “Da Xiang”, is also said to have coordinated a government official impersonation scam, said the police in an earlier statement.

He had allegedly worked with others between March and June in the collection of cash and gold items from Singapore-based individuals.

The valuables were said to be benefits of criminal conduct, but court documents did not disclose their value.

On Sept 23, Chin was ordered to be remanded at Central Police Division, and his case will be mentioned again on Sept 30.

If convicted, he can be jailed for up to 10 years, fined up to $500,000, or both.

In their statement, police said Chin was allegedly responsible for recruiting and coordinating with other Malaysians to conduct scam and money laundering operations in Singapore.

Preliminary investigations revealed he had allegedly met at least four Malaysian runners on multiple occasions in their home country, assigned tasks, coordinated cash withdrawals at automated teller machines, and disbursed their earnings from these jobs.

Police added that under his alleged instructions, the runners took gold items from scam victims to him in Johor Bahru.

Chin is believed to be responsible for laundering at least $500,000 in scam and illicit proceeds.

Cyber Command officers from the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and the Royal Malaysia Police’s Commercial Crime Investigation Department then worked together on the case.

The Singapore authorities issued a warrant of arrest against Chin, and he was arrested in Malaysia on Sept 22.

He was handed over to the SPF that day.

Shaffiq Alkhatib is The Straits Times’ court correspondent, covering mainly criminal cases heard at the State Courts.