SINGAPORE – A man said to be linked to scams involving more than $3.7 million in losses was charged on Friday with one count of allowing others to use his bank accounts to handle the benefits of criminal conduct.
Muhammad Tarmidzi Tahir, 33, was also charged with two counts each of cheating and helping others perform unauthorised access to banks’ computer programs – offences under the Computer Misuse Act.
He was arrested in Johor on Nov 7, following a joint operation by Singapore’s Commercial Affairs Department and the Johor Commercial Crime Investigation Department of the Royal Malaysia Police, crippling a transnational scam syndicate.
According to court documents, the Singaporean allegedly engaged in a conspiracy with several unknown individuals on or around Jan 19 to cheat Standard Chartered Bank by deceiving it into believing that he was opening an account for his personal use.
At around the same time, Tarmidzi is said to have shared with others the Internet banking login details of his account, resulting in multiple instances of unauthorised access in January and February.
He allegedly committed similar offences involving CIMB Bank between July and August.
Tarmidzi is also accused of allowing others to use his bank accounts to handle the benefits of criminal conduct.
On Nov 7, Malaysian police officers raided an apartment complex in Johor and arrested Tarmidzi, who was handed over to the Singapore police 10 days later.
In a statement on Thursday, the Singapore Police Force said: “He (Tarmidzi) is believed to be responsible for laundering criminal proceeds linked to scams targeting more than 50 victims of investment scams, job scams, fake friend impersonation scams, government officials impersonation scams and loan scams reported in Singapore, involving losses amounting to more than $3.7 million.
“Preliminary investigations indicated that the man is believed to have procured Singapore bank accounts through various chat platforms such as Telegram and Facebook. The bank accounts were subsequently used to launder the syndicate’s scam proceeds.”
Tarmidzi’s case has been adjourned to Nov 25.
For each count of cheating, an offender can be jailed for up to three years and fined.
For each charge under the Computer Misuse Act, a first-time offender can be jailed for up to two years and fined up to $5,000. A repeat offender can be jailed for up to three years and fined up to $10,000 for each charge.
