11½ years' jail for man involved in bogus sales transactions totalling over $240m

A man, who was part of a syndicated missing trader fraud (MTF) scheme, falsified 704 sales invoices linked to a wholesale trading firm, reflecting fictitious sales transactions totalling more than $240 million.

- Shaffiq Alkhatib

Tan Tuan Heng, 46, was the sole director and shareholder of Brillantec Solutions (BSPL) at the time of the offences.

With the falsified sales invoices, BSPL made tax claims of over $16 million, leading to more than $191,000 in refunds.

The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras) has withheld claims linked to the remaining amount.

Separately, Tan submitted 11 goods and services tax (GST) monthly returns between October 2012 and October 2013, based on fictitious sales transactions supported by forged supplier invoices and falsified BSPL invoices.

The Singaporean falsely claimed nearly $480,000 in taxes for the period, and received the amount in refunds.

On Feb 17, Tan was sentenced to 11 years and six months' jail after he pleaded guilty to nine charges for offences including cheating and those linked to GST-linked crimes.

The prosecution stated in court documents that BSPL was incorporated in September 2011.