Police arrest two men over attempt to use fake $10,000 notes

SINGAPORE - Two men have been arrested and charged with offences after they attempted to cheat a DBS Bank teller with three counterfeit $10,000 notes.

The men, aged 66 and 39, were at the Plaza Singapura branch on Tuesday (March 22) at around 11am, the police said in a statement on Friday.

The 66-year-old allegedly presented three Singapore $10,000 notes and one Singapore $1,000 note to the bank teller, and asked for the sum to be deposited into his corporate bank account.

The bank teller suspected that the $10,000 notes were counterfeit and credited only the $1,000 note into the man's account.

The police were subsequently alerted and they arrested both men after preliminary investigations.

Five counterfeit Singapore $10,000 notes were seized, including two additional counterfeit notes that the older man surrendered to the police.

The police also raided the residence of the older man and a hotel room of the younger man, and recovered some documents believed to be forged.

The men were charged on Thursday over their suspected involvement in engaging in a conspiracy to possess and use the five counterfeit notes as genuine.

The police said they take a serious view of any person found criminally involved in counterfeit currency.

Common offences involving counterfeiting include forging currency or bank notes, using them as genuine and making or possessing instruments or materials for forgery. These offences are punishable with jail terms of up to 20 years and a fine.

Possession of counterfeit notes is punishable with a jail term of up to 15 years and a fine.

The police reminded the public to be wary of counterfeit notes.

Those who suspect they have received any counterfeit notes should call 999 immediately.

They should note the characteristics of the person who presented the counterfeit note, including gender, race, age, height, build, clothing, tattoos and languages spoken.

They should also note any vehicle used, including its registration number.

The police added: "Limit the handling of the suspected counterfeit note and place it in a protective covering, such as an envelope or folded paper, to prevent further tampering, and hand it over to the police immediately."

Information on the security features of genuine Singapore currency is available at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) website. 

The MAS stopped issuing new $10,000 notes in 2014 as part of a broader move to strengthen its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regime.

Existing $10,000 notes remain legal tender.