SINGAPORE - The director of a lifestyle company has been charged with money laundering, cheating and forgery.
Chinese national Chen Binjue, 39, director of Dionysuss Lifestyle, is alleged to have allowed her company's bank account to receive criminal proceeds.
On Friday (Feb 25), she was charged with five counts of cheating, three counts of forgery and one count of facilitating the retention of the benefits of criminal conduct.
In a release the same day, the police said the Commercial Affairs Department had received a complaint from a victim who was defrauded into transferring US$952,000 (S$1.28 million) into the bank account belonging to Chen's company.
Investigations revealed that some time between March 2019 and July 2020, Chen had allegedly been involved in an arrangement to allow her company's bank account to receive criminal proceeds.
In June 2019, she allegedly forged three invoices for the purpose of cheating Maybank by hiding the source and purpose of the funds.
Between April 2019 and September 2019, she is alleged to have also cheated an employee of a corporate service provider into making lodgements with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority.
The lodgements were in relation to the transfer of shares of two companies and involved having the company directorships transferred to an individual who had not consented.
According to court documents, the companies involved were Dionysuss Lifestyle and Singapoints, which is purportedly a tech start-up.
Chen is currently out on $20,000 bail and is expected to be back in court on March 24.
The police said it takes a serious view of the offences and will not hesitate to take action against anyone involved in arrangements allowing their companies to be used for illegal purposes such as the laundering of criminal proceeds.
If convicted of facilitating the retention of benefits from criminal conduct, Chen may be jailed for up to 10 years and fined up to $500,000.
For each charge of forgery, she may be jailed for up to 10 years and fined.
For each charge of cheating, she may be jailed for up to three years and fined.
