PUBLISHED ONNovember 10, 2025 1:28 AMBYSean LerTwo Malaysian men, aged 22 and 38, will be charged in court on Monday (Nov 10) for their suspected involvement in a government official impersonation scam (GOIS).
In a statement on Nov 9, the police said they received a report on Nov 7 involving the impersonation of government officials purportedly from the Ministry of Law (MinLaw) and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
The victim who filed the report was allegedly told over the phone by an unknown person, claiming to be from a bank, that a credit card had been applied under her name.
When she denied doing so, the call was transferred to representatives claiming to be from MinLaw and MAS, who informed her that she was implicated in a case of money laundering. She was then presented with fake staff passes along with other supporting documents via WhatsApp.
Convinced that she was under investigation, the woman transferred $1 million from one of her bank accounts to her own credit card. She then purchased gold worth over $412,000 using the card at Mustafa Centre before handing them to an unknown person on the same day.
The 38-year-old man was identified through follow-up investigations and ground enquiries and subsequently arrested by officers from the Anti-Scam Command when he re-entered Singapore on Nov 8.
The 22-year-old man, who was allegedly involved in similar cases in Singapore, was also arrested on the same day.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the two men were allegedly tasked by unknown persons to collect cash and valuables from victims of GOIS, before handing them to said unknown persons.
The two Malaysian men will be charged in court with the offence of abetment by conspiracy to assist another to retain benefits from criminal conduct, according to the police.
If convicted, they may face jail term of up to 10 years, a fine not exceeding $500,000, or both.
The police would like to remind members of the public never to transfer or hand over money or valuables to unknown individuals, or to anyone whose identity has not been verified.
Members of the public should also avoid placing money or valuables at any physical location to facilitate subsequent collection and to not share your device screens with unknown persons under any circumstances.
They also issued a stern reminder after observing an increasing trend of Malaysian nationals travelling to Singapore to assist scam syndicates in collecting cash, gold and valuables from scam victims:
"The police take a serious stance against any person who may be involved in scams, and perpetrators will be dealt with in accordance with the law," said the agency.
Parliament passed amendments to Singapore's criminal law on Tuesday (Nov 4), one that will see scammers subjected to mandatory caning.
Under the Criminal Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill, scammers and those who recruit or participate in scam syndicates face between six and 24 strokes of the cane.
