Seven people were arrested and more than US$40 million ($53 million) recovered, following a multi-national, multi-agency effort between the Singapore Police Force (SPF), Timor-Leste authorities and Interpol.
In a statement on August 3, the SPF said the discovery was the largest in a case involving business email fraud.
On July 15, an employee of a commodities firm in Singapore received an email from a fraudster posing as a supplier, asking him to transfer payment for some goods to a new bank account based in Timor-Leste.
The employee did not realize that the ‘i’ in the supplier’s original email had been replaced by “I”. He transferred US$42.3 million to the scammer on July 19.
He became aware of the fraud only after being informed by the firm’s real supplier that it had not received payment, police said.
A police report was made on July 23.
The SPF contacted the Timor-Leste authorities and Interpol, after receiving the police report.
On July 24, the SPF Anti-Fraud Center was informed that a total of US$39 million had been traced and frozen in a bank account maintained in Timor-Leste.
On July 25, Timor-Leste authorities said that several individuals had been arrested, leading to the discovery of US$2 million, police said.
Seven suspects were arrested by the police Scientific Crimes Division, the National Intelligence Service, the Financial Intelligence Unit and other law enforcement agencies in Timor-Leste.
“Steps are being taken to return the stolen funds to the victims in Singapore,” Singapore police said.
Mr David Chew, director of the Department of Commercial Affairs, said fraud is a global threat that requires a global response from law enforcement wherever the threat occurs.
“Today, money moves with a click, law enforcement must be able to move that fast, to protect our people from fraud,” said Mr Chew.
“When money is run across our borders, law enforcement must not only be able to understand but also have the legal and international systems in place, to quickly track and apprehend them.”
The success of recovering more than US$40 million in the case, is a testament to law enforcement’s ability to do so, Mr Chew said.