CDSA and CMA Bill Amendments

In 2023, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Smart Nation and Digital Government Office amended the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act (CDSA) and the Computer Misuse Act (CMA) to curb the facilitation of scams and the movement of criminal proceeds, as well as the abuse of Singpass.

These amendments seek to deter individuals from enabling or facilitating the commission of criminal activities by others, and in the case of Singpass, also helps protect citizens and businesses who depend on Singpass as our national digital identity.

Overview of the Amendments to the CDSA and CMA

Money Mule Poster 1

Money Mule Poster 3

What are the New CDSA Offences?

S/N	New CDSA Offence	Description	Penalties
1	Rash Money Laundering	A person can be liable for rash money laundering if he proceeded to carry out a transaction while he had some suspicions about the transaction, but did not make further enquiries to address those suspicions.	The offence of rash money laundering will carry a fine of up to $250,000 or imprisonment of up to five years, or both.
2	Negligent Money Laundering	A person can be liable for negligent money laundering if he continued with a transaction despite the presence of red flags or suspicious indicators, which would be noticeable by an ordinary, reasonable person.	The offence of negligent money laundering will carry a fine of up to $150,000 or imprisonment of up to three years, or both.
3	Assisting Another to Retain Benefits of Criminal Conduct	A person can be liable for this offence if his conduct falls within any of the following four circumstances: The value of the property he dealt with is disproportionate to his known sources of income; or He allowed another person, or persons, to access, operate or control his payment account and failed to take reasonable steps to find out the purpose of this arrangement; or He received or transferred money using his payment account and failed to take reasonable steps to find out the source or destination of the money; or He received money from or transferred money to another person, or persons, and failed to take reasonable steps to find out that person’s identity and physical location.	The offence of assisting another to retain benefits from criminal conduct in certain circumstances carries a maximum fine of up to $50,000 or imprisonment of up to three years, or both

What are the New CMA Offences?

S/N	New CMA Offence	Description	Penalties
1	Disclose a user’s own Singpass credentials to facilitate an offence	Disclosing a user’s own Singpass credentials for gain. Disclosing a user’s own Singpass credentials knowing that someone is likely to suffer wrongful loss. Disclosing a user’s own Singpass credentials to anyone without checking the identity and physical location of the person.	The offence of disclosing an individual’s own Singpass credentials will carry a maximum fine of up to $10,000 or imprisonment of up to three years, or both.
2	Obtaining or dealing in Singpass credentials to facilitate criminal activities.	A person can be liable for an offence if he obtains, retains, supplies, offers to supply, transmits or makes available, the Singpass credentials of another person to commit or facilitate the commission of any offence.	The offence of obtaining or dealing in Singpass credentials will carry a maximum penalty of a fine of up to $10,000 or imprisonment of up to three years, or both, for a first offence. For a second or subsequent offence, the maximum penalty will be a fine of up to $20,000 or imprisonment of up to five years, or both.

Summary of the CDSA and CMA Bill Amendments

The following video illustrates the current situation, an overview of amendments and reasons for implementation, including the definition of money mules, key and sub-messages, and legal consequences.

The following video covers the current situation on the prevalence of money laundering and Singpass abuse by scammers over the past three years. The amendments introduced new offences under the CDSA and CMA. Under the CDSA, individuals can be liable for rash money laundering, negligent money laundering, or transacting without proper verification. Under the CMA, it is now an offence to share Singpass credentials without proper verification, and to obtain or deal in Singpass credentials unless for lawful reasons.

The amendments took effect on the 8th February 2024 and the Sentencing Advisory Panel Guidelines for the new offences were published on 21st August 2024, which may be accessed at sentencingpanel.gov.sg/guidelines-for-scams-related-offences.

Useful Resources

Landing page banner