Four Indian nationals jailed for $570k GST fraud in Singapore

Yahoo! News India, 15 Oct 2014
Four Indian nationals in Singapore were Wednesday given jail terms ranging between three and four years for fraudulent Goods and Services Tax (GST) tourist refund claims of about $570,000.
Sundar Panneer Selvam, 46, Baskaran Uthirapathy, 28, Pounraj Natarajan, 25, and Gobi Raman, 31, were held guilty for money laundering.
Sundar, Baskaran and Pounraj also face bribery charges.
Sundar was given a four-year jail term and ordered to pay a penalty of $292,977; Baskaran's sentence was three and a half years and a penalty of $237,596; Pounraj got 45 months and a $201,130 penalty; and Gobi, three years and a $202,045 penalty. Full story

SNAPSHOT: Calvin Cheng says being charged and fined for illegal price fixing is no big deal

The Real Singapore, 11 Oct 2014




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PRC insurance agents going door-to-door to con senior citizens with false information about the insurance they are selling

Hardwarezone Forum, 24 Sep 2014
At about 8.40pm a Chinese speaking female agent that sounds a lot like a China women knock on my door asking if there are anyone between the age of 40-60 years old or 45-60 years old ( I did not pay much attention when she asked me the first time and I am the only 1 at home and I am not within this age group). I reply “no” and walk back to my bedroom.
While in my room I heard her knocking my neighbours’ door but resume packing my items. But as she kept on speaking none stop it gets more and more annoying to me as the way she speaks is CLEARLY SOUNDS LIKE SHE IS TRYING TO MISLEAD MY OLD NEIGHBOUR.
She repeatedly bring out the word “Singapore Government” many times and make it sounds like she is working on behalf of our local Government. Another reason why I assume she is China lady beside her China tone Chinese that is not commonly found in Singaporean Chinese is that she uses the word “Singapore” infront of Government. For locals, we merely says “Government”.
She claim it is an insurance that is brought by our “Singapore Government” for everyone between the age of 40-60 years old or 45-60 years old. Which I instantly know is NOT TRUE.
At this point I am really pissed and mad at her FALSE CLAIMS and MISLEADING so I stomp out of my house to interrupt their conversation by telling my neighbour that the money is deducted from her CPF account thus it wasn’t free as claimed by that agent. Full story

Three travel agencies have come out to expose Yang Yin's fake credentials

The Alternative View, 16 Sep 2014


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Two Singaporeans of Indian origin sentenced to five years imprisonment in UK for match-fixing

Goal.com, 20 Jun 2014
Three men have been jailed for their involvement in a plot to fix a football match in England.
Businessmen Chann Sankaran and Krishna Ganeshan were convicted of conspiracy to commit bribery at Birmingham Crown Court on Wednesday, and on Friday were sentenced to five years' imprisonment.
Former Whitehawk FC defender Michael Boateng - also found guilty earlier this week - was handed 16 months behind bars for his role, while Hakeem Adelakun was cleared of the same charge and fellow footballer Moses Swaibu awaits a re-trial. Full story

Related:

1. Businessmen and footballer jailed over match-fixing - BBC News
2. Footballer and two businessmen jailed over match-fixing plot - Guardian UK
3. Footballer jailed along with two Far Eastern businessmen for match-fixing plot - Dailymail.co.uk
4. Businessmen jailed for five years over match fixing scandal - Telegraph.co.uk
5. Michael Boateng, Chann Sankaran and Krishna Ganeshan found guilty of match fixing and bribery - itv.com

Also read:

1. One of the two Singaporeans charged in UK for match-fixing has dual-citizenship. Singapore Government now allows dual nationality?
   
2. Why Krishna Sanjey Ganeshan got dual citizenship? - Hardwarezone Forum

Ministry of Manpower returned passports to 40 Thai students cheated by local HR companies after intervention by Thai government

Pattaya Mail, 15 Jun 2014
The Singaporean government on Friday returned passports to some 40 Thai students who were cheated by manpower firms in that country, said Pravit Khiengpol, director-general of the Thai Labour Ministry’s Employment Department.
The return of confiscated passports came after nearly 30 Thai students lodged a complaint with the Crime Suppression Division in Bangkok that they were lured by recruitment agencies which had displayed advertisements on a website and on Facebook that Thai students could receive training at famous hotels, restaurants and clubhouses in Singapore.
After working in Singapore for a while, the Singaporean authorities made random inspections and found that the documents allowing them to be trainees were forged.
Their passports were confiscated by the Singaporean authorities while many were asked to become witnesses by Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower.
Officials of Thailand's Employment Department said later that about 40 Thai students were still stranded in Singapore. Full story

Athletic training school puts out public warning to parents about three Filipino coaches with dubious credential plying their trade in Singapore

JS Athletics
They are unethical coaches still plying their trade in Singapore Schools & conducting private coaching but having wrong concept of “Winning at all Costs” as displayed by them and training especially primary schools pupil with rigorous workouts meant for adults.
PLEASE don’t let these coaches abuse (not coaching) your child with old school training method as they are desperate for results as shown during Primary Schools National Track & Field Championship. Nothing is good about their training methods, any Tom, Dick & Harry can achieved that kind of results by whacking the kids and coaching the kids 5-6 sessions in a week. Sad to say that their services are still engaged by parents too without checking their background and these coaches can be found conducting their private coaching at Bedok Stadium, Bishan Stadium and at Toa Payoh Stadium.
Firstly, they are still moving around and proudly lying to innocent public that they were former national athletes & national coaches of Philippines when they have never been one at all. Full story

25 foreign workers jailed for using forged academic certificates to obtain for work passes

Staffindustry.com, 21 Feb 2014
Prison sentences of between four and 12 weeks have been handed down to 25 foreign workers in Singapore for forging academic certificates in order to obtain work passes for Singapore, reports channelnewsasia.com.

The 21 men and four women have all plead guilty to the charges. Most of the workers were from Myanmar (16), seven were from India, and two from the Philippines.

Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said the forged academic certificates were submitted to the Controller of Work Passes, which is an offence under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act.
The accused persons obtained forged academic certificates in their home countries. They used the certificates to apply for work passes between 2 November 2012 and 7 June 2013.
MOM said based on the false information submitted, the accused persons were issued 20 S Passes, for semi-skilled workers, and five Employment Passes, for professionals. Full story

Related:

1. Manila's forgers graduate with honors from 'Recto University' - CNN.com
2. Educational Frauds In India : Fake Universities And Forged Degree Certificates - Mapsofindia.com

Credit card fraud reported in Singapore

Computerworld.com.sg, 11 Feb 2014
Some credit card holders from several major banks in Singapore have reported of being hit with fraudulent charges from Taiwan-based Neweb Technologies. The banks affected include Citibank, DBS Bank, the United Overseas Bank (UOB), and the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) Bank. According to the Hardware Zone online forum, the victims said that they were charged with multiple transactions from Neweb Technologies. Some were alerted to the charges after receiving SMS notifications of the transactions. Acknowledging this incident, DBS is "actively reaching out to customers who may have been impacted and is promptly replacing their cards," said its spokesperson in a media statement. DBS will also "refund affected customers for confirmed unauthorised transactions." Full story

Smuggling, fraud cost Philippines $25.8 billion in 2011

Reuters, 4 Jan 2014
Global Financial Integrity (GFI) said a record high of $25.8 billion came into the Southeast Asian, archipelago nation illegally in 2011, the most recent year for which data was available. (GFI report: r.reuters.com/buv56v)
That was up from $22.9 billion in 2010, marking back-to-back years of record illicit inflows. About $14.2 billion of illicit inflows was reported for 2009, the study said.
These illicit inflows are typically the result of under-reported merchandise that is shipped into the country, said GFI economist Brian LeBlanc, one of the report's authors.
"This is mostly importers trying to avoid VAT taxes or import tariffs," LeBlanc said. "Customs corruption is a huge issue in the Philippines," he said. Full story

Singapore museum allegedly bought stolen idol from wanted Indian antiquities dealer, refuses to respond to media queries

The Hindu, 6 Dec 2013
A criminal complaint filed by the Manhattan District Attorney in the Supreme Court of New York has put to rest doubts, if any, about the illicit trade of antiquities stolen from Tamil Nadu.
The document filed in the court said Subhash Chandra Kapoor, U.S.-based antiquities dealer extradited to India and now lodged in a Chennai prison, sold stolen bronze sculptures not only to a museum in Australia but also in Singapore.
The complaint says Kapoor and Aaron Freedman, long-time manager of Kapoor’s gallery, have dealt in stolen antiquities for more than 15 years. It specifically accuses Freedman of arranging to ship stolen antiquities, including two idols of Nataraja and three idols of goddess Uma to and out of the U.S. Freedman also arranged for false provenance certificates for illicit property, contacted prospective buyers and laundered stolen antiquities. 
The new fact to emerge is that Kapoor and Freedman were also involved in the sale of another stolen idol to the Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM) in Singapore. According to the complaint, a 1,000-year bronze idol of Uma Parmeshvari was stolen from a temple in Ariyalur district of Tamil Nadu and was illicitly transported to the U.S. In February 2007, Kapoor sold the sculpture to the ACM for US $650,000 and shipped it to Singapore.
The Hindu, which has been following this case, wrote to the museum authorities in Singapore in July, enquiring about the provenance of the Uma Parameshvari sculpture. However, they did not reply. The Hindu contacted the museum again to get its response to the recent developments. Until this story went to print, the museum did not reply to the email that followed a telephone conversation. Full story

Disgraced marathon runner Tam Chua Puh admits he has been cheating ‘for years’

Examiner.com, 5 Dec 2013
It takes a special kind of athlete to run a marathon. An extreme level of fitness and training coupled with the drive and determination to push your body to the extremes. Or, just a gutless desire to cheat.
The latter was the case for a Singapore pastry chef, 43-year-old Tam Chua Puh, who admitted to his cheating ways, and furthermore said he’s been deceiving race organizers for years, reports the AFP via Yahoo! News on Thursday.
Tam said that out of the 42 km Singapore race, he had only run six kilometers before stopping because of knee pain. He then took a “short cut” to the finish line, coming in several minutes ahead of the rest of the pack. Full story

Beware of fake Ministry of Manpower (MOM) website

Hardwarezone Forum, 29 Nov 2013
Real Site : Ministry of Manpower Singapore (www.mom.gov.sg)
Fake Site : Ministry of Manpower Singapore (www.momgov.sg)




Full story

Singaporean MBA degree holder scammed by psychic in New York

The New York Times, 11 Oct 2013
A second witness, Lee Choong, a Singapore native who earned a master’s degree in business in New York, went to Ms. Mitchell in 2007 when she was upset over an unrequited infatuation with a co-worker. Ms. Choong gave Ms. Mitchell about $128,000 over two years; she did not recoup any of it, despite a promise of a full refund if her life did not improve.
Ms. Mitchell also convinced Ms. Choong that she was surrounded with “negative energy” that would be dispelled by putting $18,000 in a jar and leaving it with the psychic. Later, Ms. Choong gave Ms. Mitchell tens of thousands more, supposedly for supplies. Full story

Filipino photo thief's poverty claim challenged by former co-worker

Philstar.com, 26 Sep 2013
After citing youthful lapse of judgment, the lure of travel abroad, and the prize money, Mark Joseph Solis now says that poverty drove him to lift someone else’s photo and submit it as his own to a contest sponsored by the Chilean embassy in Manila.
Solis, along with his mother Amelia, showed the news crew their modest rented home, which they are also renting out to other people to augment their income.
However, netizen Maricris Valte, who used to work with Solis, urged the fact-finding committee of the University of the Philippines (UP) to conduct a lifestyle check.
“Watching Mark Solis’ interview on GMA News TV, where he claims that money problems forced him to resort to misrepresenting himself. I want to puke! I’ve seen his house in Las Piñas and the venue of the GMA-7 interview doesn’t look anything close to his house. He has more expensive gadgets than I have! I challenge the fact-finding committee of UP to investigate his and his family’s lifestyle,” Valte posted on her Facebook account. Full story

Filipino Graduate Scholar Wins Several International Competitions With Stolen Photos, Sought To Keep Prize Money

Fstoppers.com, 22 Sep 2013
Mark Joseph Solis, a student attending the University of Philippines, won a $1000 prize and round trip tickets to Chile and Brazil for his winning photo in the “Smiles for the World” competition. However, the photo is not his, he stole it right off Flickr. Further investigation has revealed that Solis has won numerous competitions over the last 3 years using other photos he never took, but rather stole from others online.
The competition took place on September 18th and the owner of the photo, Gregory John Smith, discovered the stolen photo after being tipped off by “emails from all over the world.” He called it out in the comments of the news story covering the contest.
After being caught Solis has been quick to apologize coming out publicly and even sending a letter today to Smith. But this is not his first time doing it. In fact, he used the same photo to win another contest, United Nations International Year of Water Photo Contest as you can see here on their website announcement (note the owner of the photo at the bottom). Here’s another example of a photo he submitted to a contest in 2008, yet again stolen straight from Flickr. And again. Full story

Related:

1. University of the Philippines student wins contest using 'stolen' photo - Yahoo! News Philippines
2. UP student plagiarizes prize-winning photos - Rappler.com
3. Photo thief wants to keep cash prize - Philstar.com
4. UP student in plagiarism scam hopes for second chance - ABS-CBN News
5. UP president saddened over student’s ‘committed fraud’ - Inquirer Technology 
6. CCP deplores Mark Joseph Solis plagiarism act - Inquirer Lifestyle

Biography
Mark Joseph Tajo Solis is a BA Political Science senior at the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy, University of the Philippines-Diliman, where he is a Diwa ng Magdalo Foundation and Wilfredo Keng Foundation scholar. From 2010 to 2011, he studied as a JASSO Fellow at the Kyushu University in Japan, took advanced courses under the Comparative Studies of Politics and Administration in Asia Graduate Program of the Faculty of Law, and served as a Teaching Assistant at the Faculty of Social and Cultural Studies. His research interests revolve around decentralization and urbanization studies, peace and conflict studies, environmental politics, and comparative public administration.
Prior to his fellowship, Mark served as a regional intern in 2009 at the World Youth Alliance Asia Pacific, where he handled youth forums and social outreach initiatives, and then joined the ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation as a social media desk cadet in the summer of 2010. A year after, he received the JENESYS Student Ambassadorial Grant from the Japanese Government-Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was also awarded a debate scholarship to Thailand by the Open Society Institute and International Debate Education Association. This year, he was named a Tunza Eco-generation Regional Ambassador for Southeast Asia by the United National Environment Programme.

Mark Joseph Solis is also a member of the Global Youth Anti-Corruption Network


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Philippine government voices concern as more Singapore-bound Filipino jobseekers are found using forged qualifications, fake credentials

GMA News Online, 24 Sep 2013
Prospective overseas Filipino workers eyeing work in Singapore were cautioned Tuesday against faking their credentials and qualifications, lest they face intensified prosecution by labor authorities there.
In a statement, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said Singapore's Ministry of Manpower is cracking down on foreigners with forged qualifications or fake credentials.
"The Philippine Embassy (in Singapore) is reminding Filipinos applying for employment in Singapore to ensure that they submit proper academic credentials prior to employment," Baldoz said, citing the advisory from the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Singapore under Labor Attache Vic Cabe. Full story

Related:
Filipino jobseekers warned vs fake papers in Singapore - Inquirer Global Nation

Fake university certificate racket busted in India

Question: How many are currently working in Singapore with these fake certificates bought from them or other fraudsters?

Saharasamay.com, 15 Sep 2013
City police on Saturday claimed to have busted a fake certificate racket and arrested three members of the gang in Visakhapatnam.
The arrested trio has been identified as Chambalam Kotaiah Santosh Kumar (39), Malla Govinda Rao (35) and Chinthada Krishna (28), Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) P Vishwa Prasad told reporters in Visakhapatnam.
300 fake certificates of universities, two laptops, two desktops, a colour printer and other equipment have been seized, he said.
The prime accused in the case, Santosh Kumar, who hails from Kerala, allegedly started a bogus academy at Lalithanagar here in 2011. His friend Venkateswara Rao had also opened a similar academy at Dondaparthy in the city.
The duo lured unemployed youths, promising them jobs in India, Singapore and Dubai. They started issuing fake certificates of various degrees with the help of Malla Govinda Rao and Chinthada Krishna. They sold 118 fake certificates in the city for a price in the range of Rs 12,000 to Rs 30,000. Full story

Diners Singapore hacked in global operation, 5 men detained by US authorities

Sbs.com.au, 26 Jul 2013
US authorities indicted five men on charges of running a global hacking operation that enabled them to steal the bank card numbers of more than 160 million people.
According to the indictment, the men -- four Russians and a Ukrainian -- targeted major payment processors, retailers and financial institutions around the world over the course of seven years, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in losses.
The defendants were charged with attacks on, among others, NASDAQ, Visa Jordan, the Belgian bank Dexia, and Diners Singapore. Just three of the corporate victims have reported combined losses in excess of $300 million. Full story

VIDEO: S'pore implicated in 'sting' video exposing alleged land graft in Malaysia

Yahoo! News Singapore,21 Mar 2013
Singapore has been implicated in a covert investigation by a London-based NGO into shady land deals in Sarawak involving the state's Chief Minister Taib Mahmud and his family.
In a 16-minute "sting" video titled "Inside Malaysia's Shadow State" shot by Global Witness, investigators posing as foreign investors recorded snippets of their conversation with Taib's cousins and lawyers under the pretext of buying Sarawak land for hefty profit. Full story



Related:
Dirty money in not-so-squeaky-clean Singapore - Malaysiakini.com