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The Police have arrested three individuals — two 19-year-old teenagers, a Singapore Citizen and a Malaysian, and a 16-year-old male Singaporean teenager — for their suspected involvement in a Business Email Compromise (BEC) Scam involving USD 2.89 million.

On 22 April 2026, the Police were alerted to suspicious activities in two corporate bank accounts by DBS Bank. The account holder had attempted to withdraw USD 2.56 million after the remaining amount was wired to overseas bank accounts. DBS staff, upon suspecting fraudulent activity, referred the matter to the Police.  Officers from Anti-Scam Command reached out to INTERPOL to contact the remitter who transferred USD 2.89 million to the corporate account from the United States. 

Through follow-up investigations, the corporate bank account holder was arrested in the vicinity of Woodlands on 23 April 2026. His two accomplices were swiftly arrested on the same day. Preliminary investigations revealed that the trio had conspired with a scam syndicate based in Malaysia to set up shell companies between March 2026 and April 2026 and opened corporate bank accounts to facilitate the receipt of the scam proceeds. Separately, INTERPOL informed that the US remitter had fallen prey to BEC. 

Both 19-year-old teenagers will be charged in Court on 25 April 2026 with the offence of assisting another to retain benefits from criminal conduct under Section 51(1)(a) of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992. The offence carries an imprisonment term of up to 10 years or to a fine not exceeding S$500,000 or to both. Investigations against the 16-year-old teenager is ongoing. 

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. From 30 December 2025, scammers and members or recruiters of scam syndicates will face mandatory caning of at least 6 strokes, which can go up to 24 strokes.

Under the Facility Restriction Framework, individuals involved in mule-related offences – whether they are under investigation and assessed to be at risk, or have been warned, issued with composition sums, prosecuted, or convicted – may face restrictions on banking services and mobile line subscriptions to prevent further facilitation of scams.

The Police would like to remind members of the public that anyone found to be linked to such crimes will be held accountable. 

For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamshield.gov.sg or call the ScamShield Helpline at 1799. Anyone with information on such scams may call the Police Hotline at 1800-255-0000 or submit information online at www.police.gov.sg/i-witness.