Three years’ jail for man linked to nearly $8m of fraudulent tax claims
Based on the instructions from a director of his company, an employee was involved in forging at least 77 invoices that falsely stated that the company had made at least $25 million in sales.
Through the actions of Wong Meng Fai and other syndicate members, more than 180 invoices involving Nagore Trading were forged, and fraudulent tax claims totalling nearly $8 million were made to the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras).
On Tuesday, Wong, 44, who was paid between $30,000 and $46,000 for his role in the scheme, was sentenced to three years’ jail.
He pleaded guilty to being involved in carrying on the firm’s business for a fraudulent purpose – an offence under the Companies Act.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Matthew Choo said that Nagore Trading was part of the scheme that operated between Feb 4, 2015, and Jan 28, 2016.
The company claimed to purchase goods from local suppliers through false invoices, and the non-existent goods were then purportedly sold along a chain of other business entities which were also part of the scheme.
Arranged by the masterminds, the goods will then be sold to an exporter. The masterminds then approach the exporter to sell the goods to an overseas buyer, which does not exist.
The masterminds arrange payment to be made to the exporter from this purported buyer. The exporter then pays the company at the end of the chain the amount received, plus GST. This GST made up the source of the scheme’s criminal proceeds.
Not knowing that the transactions were a sham, the exporter then claims GST refunds from Iras, since exports are exempted from the tax.
Wong ran the operations of Nagore alone from June 3, 2015, to Aug 31, 2015, and with Kingsley Lee Chong Hoong, whom he earlier recruited as a nominee director, from Sept 1, 2015, to Jan 28, 2016.
The forgeries were based on instructions from Alvin Chua Han Soon who directed Nagore’s operations from June 3, 2015, to Jan 28, 2016. Chua, in turn, got instructions from Ang Chee Keong, another director at the firm.
In August 2018, an Iras investigation officer lodged a police report, stating that it had started investigations into various entities, including Nagore Trading.
The prosecution asked for a jail term of at least three years for Wong, saying he had played a key role in this scheme and that his offence was sophisticated and audacious.
Chua had been earlier sentenced to four years’ jail, while Lee was given three years’ jail.
The case against other accomplices, including Ang, is ongoing.
For his offence under the Companies Act, Wong, who has not made any restitution, could have been jailed for up to seven years and fined up to $15,000.
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