SINGAPORE – Six former financial advisers have been issued five-year prohibition orders (POs) by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) over tax evasion offences.
The POs took effect on June 1, 2023, MAS said in a statement on Thursday.
This means Mr Chan Jun Yi, Ms Chanel Quah Hui Wen, Mr Lim Zhan Yi, Ms Sherlin Chia Hee Ping, Mr Jackie Tang Hong Kong and Ms Yvonne Quah are no longer allowed to do the following:
- Provide financial advisory service, and take part in the management, act as a director, or become a substantial shareholder of any financial advisory firm.
- Carry on business as, and take part in the management of any insurance intermediary.
Between April 2018 and April 2019, the six former agents, who were on the same team in Great Eastern Financial Advisers, had engaged a third party to falsely inflate their business expenses for their income tax returns.
The false expenses were categorised into “general expenses” and “commission paid to introducers”.
The entries reduced their income taxes by $124,648 for the 2018 and 2019 years of assessment. On Sept 16, 2022, the six former agents were sentenced to imprisonment ranging from four days to eight weeks, and penalties ranging from $7,965.00 to $113,829.02.
The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras) also referred this case to MAS for regulatory action. MAS then issued five-year POs to the six former agents, as each had actively participated in the scheme to cheat Iras.
MAS said the six former agents’ convictions for falsifying expense claims in income tax returns gave the authority reason to believe that they will not perform financial advisory services honestly.
Anyone convicted of trying to evade tax by making any false statement or entry in any return under the Income Tax Act must pay a penalty of treble the amount of tax undercharged. The offender can also be fined up to $10,000, or jailed for up to three years, or both.
Last week, MAS issued an eight-year PO against a former insurance agent for corruption offences, including giving bribes amounting to almost $93,000.
He was convicted on April 28, 2021, of 18 counts of corruption, and sentenced to 15 months’ jail and fined $21,363.30.
