SINGAPORE: A 42-year-old Indian national, Hitesh Madhubhai Patel, has been extradited to the United States, according to a joint news release by the Attorney General's Chambers and Singapore Police Force on Saturday (Apr 20).
Singapore received a request from the US government for Patel's extradition in September last year, the release stated. Patel had been indicted there for his alleged part in an India-based transnational criminal organisation.
AdvertisementHe is accused of carrying out a "vast, sophisticated and highly successful India-based telephone impersonation fraud and money laundering scheme" from January 2012 to October 2016, defrauding more than 15,000 victims in the US of at least US$230 million, the release added.
The authorities said that 24 of Patel's co-conspirators have been sentenced in the US to up to 20 years' jail, "in what has been described as the first-ever large-scale, multi-jurisdiction prosecution targeting the India call centre scam industry".
"In consultation with the Attorney-General’s Chambers and pursuant to a Warrant of Apprehension issued by the State Courts of Singapore, officers from the Commercial Affairs Department of the Singapore Police Force had arrested Patel on 21 September 2018," the release stated.
"The State Courts held that Patel was liable to be extradited to the US to stand trial for general conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy.
AdvertisementAdvertisement"This case underscores Singapore’s commitment to working in close cooperation with our international counterparts in the context of transnational crime, so that enforcement agencies are able to effectively deal with persons operating across borders," it added.
Let's block ads! (Why?)
More...