Measures to Curb Money Mule Activities

Questions:

Mr Jackson Lam: To ask the Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs (a) how quickly are suspected mule activities flagged once suspicious transactions occur; (b) how do Government agencies, banks and telecommunications companies coordinate responses; and (c) whether real-time alerts of such activities or automated freezes are being expanded.

Mr Jackson Lam: To ask the Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs (a) over the past two years, how many individuals suspected of money mule activities have had access to phone lines, bank accounts or Singpass restricted; (b) how effective have these restrictions been in preventing reoffending; and (c) how long do such restrictions typically remain in place.

Answer:

Mr K Shanmugam, Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs:

1. When a scam is reported, the Anti-Scam Centre (ASC) coordinates closely with banks to quickly trace where the monies have been transferred to and freeze those bank accounts, to prevent the monies from being siphoned out of Singapore. Staff from seven maj or banks are co-located with the ASC, enabling real-time coordination and response. Typically, the ASC is able to freeze accounts within a day, and in some cases, hours. The ASC also works closely with telecommunication companies to terminate scam-tainted phone lines, and with GovTech to investigate and stem the misuse of Singpass accounts for scams.

2. Suspending such facilities only after they have been used for scams is not enough. The Police work with industry partners to use fraud analytics to proactively detect mule activities. For example, the major retail banks deploy fraud analytic tools to iden tify and freeze potential mule accounts, and the telcos proactively block local phone lines suspected to be misused for scams.

3. The Member asked if facility restrictions have been effective to prevent reoffending. We see positive early results but will need more time to assess given that the framework was only implemented from October 2025. To date, about 1,200 individuals and 50 corporate entities have been placed under these restrictions. Persons under investigation for mule-related offences and assessed to be at risk of further facilitating scams, as well as those prosecuted for such offences, will be subject to facility restric tions until the case outcome is determined. Mules who have been warned, issued composition sums, or convicted, will be subject to restrictions for one year, or three years for repeat offenders.