A 27-year-old woman from Singapore was given a three-year, eight-month prison sentence after traveling to London to collect fake jewelry and then file for Value-Added-Tax (VAT ) refunds from the UK.
On Tuesday ( Apr 1 ), Nuradilah Rohop was found guilty of a number of crimes, including conspiring with a man to launder refunds worth totaling €23, 955 ( S$ 34, 914 ).
The Singapore Police Force ( SPF ) announced in a news release on Wednesday that the co-accused identified as Alan Yeo had recruited the Singaporean sometime in December 2020.
She lied to the authorities that she was carrying actual money over the authorized amount when she returned to Singapore with the refunded amount. She therefore gave Alan the 23 and 955 Bucket payments.
Under the Computer Misuse Act, she also was found guilty of one count of using a specific substance, two matters of unauthorized access to computer material, and one count of unauthorized access code publication.
SPF argued that using dishonest means to obtain tax refunds from international authorities and laundering proceeds from criminal activity are serious crimes.
Members of the public may reject controversial job offers to travel in order to request sales tax refunds from outside authorities in order to avoid being implicated in such criminal activity.
Additionally, the police claimed that declaring the natural movement of money over S$ 20,000 into or out of Singapore is required by law.
Those found guilty of laundering under Section 47 ( 1 ) ( c ) of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking, and Other Serious Crimes ( Confiscation of Benefits ) Act may face fines of up to S$ 500, 000, imprisonment for up to 10 years, or both.
A fine of up to S$ 50, 000, three years in jail, or both are possible penalties for breaking Section 48C ( 2 ) of the Act.