SINGAPORE, June 1 — A total of 41 people, including a teenager, are expected to be charged this week for their alleged roles as money mules or for facilitating scam-related activities, amid rising concern over online fraud in the country.

According to The Straits Times, the suspects — 32 men and nine women aged between 16 and 64 — are believed to have been involved in a range of scams, including government official impersonation scams, job scams, rental scams, e-commerce scams, and fake friend call scams.

Between June 2 and 6, they are expected to be charged with offences such as assisting others to retain benefits from criminal conduct, abetment to cheating, allowing unauthorised access to computer material, and illegally disclosing passwords or access codes to Singpass, Singapore’s national digital identity system.

According to police, 35 of the suspects are accused of selling or handing over their personal bank accounts to criminal syndicates, enabling money laundering activities. Some had allegedly deceived banks into opening accounts, only to pass on the ATM cards and internet banking credentials to unknown parties.

Others are believed to have unlawfully disclosed their Singpass credentials, which allowed scammers to misuse their identities to open bank accounts.

“Anyone who allows their personal bank accounts to be used to receive and transfer money for others will be held accountable if these transactions are linked to crimes,” the police said.

In several cases, suspects were promised commissions of up to S$9,000 (RM30,000) for their bank or Singpass accounts but ultimately received no payment.

Under Singapore law, those convicted of helping another person retain criminal proceeds or abet cheating can face up to three years’ jail, a fine, or both.

Meanwhile, facilitating unauthorised access to computer material carries a sentence of up to two years’ jail, a fine, or both.

Offenders who illegally disclose Singpass credentials can also be jailed for up to three years, fined, or both.

The Straits Times reported that Singapore saw a record S$1.1 billion lost to scams in 2024 — about 70 per cent more than the S$651.8 million lost in 2023.

Police also recorded 51,501 scam reports in 2024, up from 46,563 the year before.

In response to the surge, 230 money mules were charged between August 2024 and March 2025 under stiffer sentencing guidelines introduced on August 21, 2024.

All adult offenders received jail terms of at least six months, while offenders below 21 were sent for reformative training.