Interpol red notice issued against former Wirecard director

Edo Kurniawan is said to have conspired to misappropriate various amounts between $41,200 to $100,000. PHOTO: TWITTER

SINGAPORE - An Interpol red notice has been issued against Edo Kurniawan, the former Wirecard Asia director believed to be behind one of the largest cases of fraud and forgery in the finance sector.

Kurniawan is said to have conspired with three former employees of the digital payments firm to misappropriate various amounts between $41,200 and $100,000 from Wirecard Asia Holding, a Singapore subsidiary of the German firm.

The amounts were allegedly misappropriated between May and December 2018, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said on Wednesday.

Three former employees - See Lee Wee, 29, James Aga Wardhana, 39, and Chai Ai Lim, 43 - were charged last month in Singapore with offences including criminal breach of trust.

The Wirecard case involved a missing US$2.1 billion ($2.96 billion) from the fintech firm, which collapsed in June 2020 amid allegations that the company had used fake sales transaction figures to inflate its revenue and profits.

Police said another man linked to the case - Henry Yeo Chiew Hai, 66, a director at Jacobson Fareast Marketing Services which deals with textiles and leathers - has also been charged.  Yeo, See and Chai are Singaporeans while Wardhana is an Indonesian.

Kurniawan, whose whereabouts remain unknown, had allegedly abetted Yeo to falsify invoices totalling $184,870 between both their companies.

Kurniawan, whose nationality was not mentioned in court documents, left Singapore before investigations began. Police said a warrant of arrest against him has been issued.

According to its website, an Interpol red notice requests law enforcement units worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or other legal action.

Interpol had issued red notices against a couple involved in a $32 million luxury goods scam in Singapore.

They were arrested by Malaysian police after they were identified in a hotel in Johor Bahru, and returned to Singapore on Aug 11.

They are currently in prison on remand while investigations continue.

Police said Kurniawan is also suspected of abetting Wardhana and See to transfer $159,250 of benefits from criminal conduct to persons within Singapore.

For each count of falsification of accounts, an offender can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined.

For acquiring, possessing, using, concealing or transferring benefits from criminal conduct, a person can be jailed for up to 10 years, fined up to $500,000, or both.

Anyone with information on Kurniawan can call the police hotline on 1800-255-0000 or submit information at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness.

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