2 years' jail for woman who acted as money mule for scam proceeds

SINGAPORE - A 38-year-old woman has been sentenced to two years' jail over her role in a money-laundering syndicate that handled the criminal proceeds of Nigerian scammers.

Aminorindah Haeruman was one of the money mules in the group, which had helped the scammers move more than $1.35 million out of Singapore.

She pleaded guilty on Thursday (March 31) to two counts of conspiring with Rohaiza Alap - her 47-year-old former sister-in-law - to receive criminal proceeds using her bank accounts.

Aminorindah also admitted to a charge of instigating another woman to use her bank accounts for a similar purpose.

Five other similar charges were taken into consideration by Principal District Judge Toh Yung Cheong during sentencing on Thursday.

Aminorindah had been recruited by Rohaiza to receive money in her bank accounts from a group of Nigerian scammers based in Malaysia.

She would retain about 7 per cent to 8 per cent of the sums received before handing the remaining money to Rohaiza, said the police in a statement on Thursday.

Despite the Commercial Affairs Department advising her not to provide her bank account details to others or to receive funds on behalf of others, Aminorindah continued to work with Rohaiza.

She also recruited two other people to receive criminal proceeds using their bank accounts.

They would withdraw the money and hand the cash to Aminorindah, who then gave them a part of it as commission, said the police.

Court records show that Aminorindah's jail term has been deferred to April 14.

Rohaiza, who provided 25 bank accounts to receive criminal proceeds from the scammers, was sentenced to jail for seven years and four weeks last August.

Another money mule involved in the operation, Rohaizad Mahat, was jailed for seven months in December 2019.

In their statement, the police said they take a serious view on scams and related money-laundering activities.

"The police will not hesitate to take stern enforcement action against individuals who commit these offences and persons who facilitate these offences by knowingly allowing their bank accounts to be used by scammers to receive monies, hide their tracks, and launder benefits from criminal conduct," they added.

For each of her offences, Aminorindah could have been jailed for up to 10 years, fined up to $500,000, or both.