Seven members of an alleged criminal syndicate, involved in SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) claim scam, worth S$40 million, will face additional charges on Monday.
These seven alleged accused, along with six others, have already faced charges for offences that include cheating, forgery, money laundering and perversion of justice. The police said on Sunday, January 28 that these people will be slapped with additional charges, which will include criminal conspiracy, use of forged documents and failure to exercise reasonable diligence as directors of the business entities.
The alleged criminal syndicate used nine business entities, including training providers and employer companies, to make training grant claims with the statutory board SSG. Almost S$40 million of training amount was paid by SSG to those nine business entities over six months.
The police added that out of 13, the four key members of the syndicate had fled Singapore before the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) had commenced investigations.
But, the CAD worked closely with its foreign counterparts in China, Hong Kong and Malaysia to locate those alleged culprits and take them back to Singapore to face charges.
As per the CAD director David Chew, "Crime is increasingly complex and transnational," so they had to collaborate with law enforcement partners overseas to bring those alleged criminals to face the justice.
In addition, he also stated that the successful return of those people is a result of the strong partnership the authority has with its foreign counterparts.
