Jail for 'player' in syndicate selling bank accounts

He set up internet banking facilities linked to bank accounts used to launder dirty money

- Shaffiq Alkhatib

An "instrumental player" in a crime syndicate that sold bank accounts will be spending time behind bars after he received, processed and sent to others 34 ATM cards between July and October 2023.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Matthew Choo said Goh Soon Lee had worked with an accomplice identified as Oh Zhi Xiang, 28, and the ATM cards were linked to bank accounts under the names of foreigners holding work permits.

These foreigners' employers had opened the accounts without their knowledge.

Criminals could then use the bank accounts linked to the cards to launder their ill-gotten gains.

On Jan 2, Goh, 26, was sentenced to three years and six months' jail and a fine of $3,400 after he pleaded guilty to 10 counts of misusing a computer system.

Twenty-six other charges were considered during his sentencing.

DPP Choo said that, in July 2023, Goh was offered a job opportunity to act as Oh's middleman by setting up internet banking facilities for bank accounts.

He was told that they would be used for "illegal online gambling".