SINGAPORE: Two Nigerian men will be charged in court on Tuesday (May 14) for allegedly recruiting two Singaporean women for a transnational Internet love scam.
This is the first time that overseas-based suspects involved in Internet love scams have been arrested and sent to Singapore for prosecution, police said in a news release.
Advertisement[h=3]READ: Two arrested for cheating victims in Singapore, Malaysia of at least S$237,000 in online love scams[/h][h=3]READ: Internet love scams: ‘I got carried away with his words’ says victim as police strengthen task force[/h]The men, aged 34 and 37, are believed to be part of an African Internet love scam syndicate, said police.
They allegedly recruited the women as money mules to receive criminal proceeds linked to such scams in Singapore between 2017 and 2018.
AdvertisementAdvertisement“The two women allegedly received at least S$85,700 from victims in Singapore, and laundered the money by handing the cash to syndicate members in Malaysia,” added SPF.
On Apr 16, the two men were arrested in Kuala Lumpur with the help of Commercial Crime Investigation Department officers from the Royal Malaysia Police.
They were brought to Singapore on Monday and will be charged with the offence of abetting others to dishonestly receive stolen property, police said.
If found guilty, the suspects can be jailed up to five years and fined.
Last year, there were 660 reported cases of such scams where victims in Singapore were cheated of at least S$27.5 million.
Commercial Affairs Department director David Chew said that this case was a "testament to the strong bond" between the police forces of Singapore and Malaysia in the fight against crime.
“This joint investigation shows our common resolve to send a strong deterrent message to criminals who are minded to prey on our citizens from the safety of national boundaries – that we can and will work with our foreign counterparts to identify, arrest and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law," he said.
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