Real estate agent to be charged with failing to report suspicious transaction involving property worth $886k

SINGAPORE - A real estate agent who collected over $30,000 as part of a property purchase took a photo of the cash and sent it to his colleague with the words "cannot see the light" in Chinese, which colloquially means "shady".

He also later came into information that the property buyer is an undischarged bankrupt and operated illegal gambling dens in Geylang.

But despite having suspicions about the cash collected and having been notified of the buyer's background, the real estate agent, 42, allegedly failed to lodge a suspicious transaction report about the private property purchase.

He will be charged on Wednesday (Oct 20) over the offence.

The police said on Tuesday that in August 2020, they had received a complaint that an option to purchase for the sale and purchase of an $886,000 private property had been rescinded because the buyer was an undischarged bankrupt and the co-buyer was below 21 years old.

The buyer had told the real estate agent that he would pay the 5 per cent booking fee of $44,300 in cash because he did not have a bank account.

The real estate agent agreed to collect $11,000 from the buyer on the spot, and the remaining $33,300 the following day.

On that day, he collected $32,300 from the buyer. The police did not say what happened to the other $1,000.

He then deposited the cash into his account and handed a cheque to the property developer as planned.

A few days later, the buyer's former wife told the real estate agent about the buyer's background and asked for the purchase to be voided and the money to be returned.

The police said that the real estate agent had allegedly failed to report the suspicious transaction despite all the discoveries in the course of his employment.

Under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act, if a person knows or has reasonable grounds to suspect that a property might constitute criminal proceeds, or was used in or intended to be used in connection with criminal conduct, failing to report it to a Suspicious Transaction Reporting Officer is an offence.

If found guilty, the 42-year-old can be fined up to $250,000, jailed for up to three years, or both.

In their statement, the police said that the suspicious transaction reporting regime is key in countering money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

The police added: "The Singapore authorities take a serious view towards the filing of such reports, and strongly urge reporting entities to continue their vigilance in detecting and reporting suspicious transactions."