"The face has to be arrested, who told you to be a scammer again."
Singapore police who arrested 10 foreigners aged 31 to 44 have seized nearly $735 million in assets including cryptocurrencies shortly after they were suspected of money laundering.
In addition to removing 94 properties and 50 vehicles worth $815 million under the prohibition order, the Singapore police also seized jewelry, liquor, expensive wine including 35 bank accounts that in total held more than $110 million.
Not only that, they seized cash and foreign currency worth $23 million, 250 bags, luxury watches, 270 pieces of jewelry, two gold bars, 120 electronic devices and 11 documents containing information about digital assets were seized.
Despite that, the Singapore police are still looking for eight people who are also involved in the case and they are suspected to be citizens or permanent residents of the island state who have passports belonging to China, Turkey, Cambodia and Ni-Vanuatu.
After receiving notices of illegal activities and the use of suspected fake documents used to verify the source of funds in Singapore bank accounts, authorities quickly identified several foreigners who were defrauding people through online gambling from abroad.
On 15 August 2023, 400 officers from the Commercial Affairs Department, Criminal Investigation Department, Special Operations Command and Police Intelligence Department raided locations across the country including residences and Good Class Bungalows (KCB).
While the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on 16 August 2023 revealed that they are working with legal authorities to identify fraudulent funds and digital assets in the country's financial system.
According to MAS deputy manager Mo Hern Shin, Singapore as a global financial hub will remain vulnerable to transnational risks, therefore the regulator needs to work with financial institutions to strengthen its defences.
Earlier, MAS proposed the Purpose Bound Money whitepaper in collaboration with international financial organizations to outline a sharing protocol in the use of crypto on distributed ledgers.
