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The Police have arrested a 35-year-old Malaysian man for his suspected involvement in two separate cases of Government Official Impersonation Scam (“GOIS”).

The Police received two separate reports of GOIS involving the impersonation of government officials purportedly from the “Ministry of Law” and “Monetary Authority of Singapore” on 11 and 12 November 2025. 

In the first case, the victim received a call from an unknown person purportedly from “UnionPay”, informing her that an insurance policy she allegedly purchased was due to expire and she had to pay for the insurance policy. When she denied having signed up for any insurance policy, the caller claimed that her identity might have been misused and he would file a case with the Police for her. Shortly after, the victim received another call from a government official purportedly from the “Ministry of Law and Monetary Authority of Singapore” and told her that he needed her financial information for the purpose of investigations. She was then instructed to withdraw money from her bank account to hand over to their representative, which she withdrew $9,000 and handed the cash to an unknown person. The victim was subsequently given further instructions to purchase gold worth over $170,000 to be handed over to the representative for the purpose of investigations into money laundering. When she attempted to purchase the gold at a UOB branch, the alert staff sought clarifications and advised that she could be a victim of a scam. 

In the second case, the victim received a call from an unknown person purportedly from the “Ministry of Law” and “Monetary Authority of Singapore”, who informed him that his bank account had been misused and an investigation officer would contact him. Shortly after, another caller informed him that he was under investigation and instructed him to provide his bank accounts’ information. A third caller then informed him to prepare cash and hand it over for investigations and safekeeping by the “Monetary Authority of Singapore”. The victim was also warned that he would be arrested if he failed to comply with the instructions. Out of fear, the victim prepared cash of $15,000 and handed over the cash to an unknown person the following day. 

Through extensive ground enquiries and follow up investigations, officers from the Anti-Scam Command of the Commercial Affairs Department established the identity of the unknown person as a 35-year-old man who is believed to have collected the cash from the two victims. The man was subsequently arrested when he attempted to depart from Singapore on 12 November 2025. 

Preliminary investigations revealed that the man had allegedly been tasked by unknown persons, believed to be part of a transnational scam syndicate, to collect cash from other scam victims. The man would then hand over the cash to the said unknown persons.

The man will be charged in court on 14 November 2025 with the offence of abetment by conspiracy to assisting another to retain benefits from criminal conduct under Section 51 of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992. The offence carries an imprisonment term of up to ten years, a fine not exceeding $500,000, or both. 

The Police continue to observe an increasing trend of Malaysian nationals travelling to Singapore to assist scam syndicates in collecting cash, gold and valuables from scam victims. The Police take a serious stance against any person who may be involved in scams, and perpetrators will be dealt with in accordance with the law. 

The Police would like to remind members of the public to NEVER transfer or hand monies/ valuables to unknown persons and persons whose identity you did not verify. NEVER place monies or valuables at a physical location to facilitate subsequent collection. Do not share the screens of your devices with any unknown persons. Singapore Government officials, including those from the Ministry of Law and Monetary Authority of Singapore, will never ask members of the public to do the following things over a phone call: 

1. Ask you to transfer money;
2. Ask you to disclose bank log-in details;
3. Ask you to install mobile apps from unofficial app stores; or
4. Transfer your call to Police.

If you have any information relating to such crimes or if you are in doubt, please call the Police Hotline at 1800-255-0000, or submit it online at www.police.gov.sg/i-witness. All information will be kept strictly confidential. If you require urgent Police assistance, please dial ‘999’. For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamshield.gov.sg or call the 24/7 ScamShield Helpline at 1799. 

The Police arrested the man on 12 November 2025