There are numerous schemes under the SkillsFuture umbrella. They are meant to help Singaporean workers upgrade themselves, so that they can stay relevant, remain employed, and earn higher incomes. However, some people decided to abuse those schemes.
Recently, five members of a criminal syndicate were charged with defrauding the government. They allegedly made close to S$40 million in fraudulent claims from SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG). They allegedly submitted forged documents to fraudulently obtain training subsidies from SSG. The claims were submitted as applications by companies for reimbursement for training of employees – a scheme that has been around since the 1970s.
As expected, the government got criticised for the incident. How can government be so stupid? How can it lose so much money?
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How Did 5 People Scam SkillsFuture Singapore Of $40 Million?
Was SkillsFuture Scam A Case Of Criminal Masterminds Or A Flaw In The System?
During the PAP’s Convention on 19 November, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong spoke about the strategies that the Government had come up with to help employees upgrade themselves as the economy grows.
One of the strategies was SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG), a way for Singaporeans to learn skills needed for jobs in the future. However, little did he know that the institution would fall victim to a criminal syndicate in what’s considered to be one of the biggest cases of defrauding in Singapore to date.
We’re talking nearly $40 million worth of stolen money. What group of criminals would be so daring as to take on a Government programme? And how did they even manage to pull off such a heist? Let’s find out.
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40 million SkillsFuture scam shows the “deplorable state” of civil service and leadership: ex-Presidential candidate
3 men and 2 women, believed to be members of a criminal syndicate, were charged in court this week after they scammed government training grants scheme, SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG), of a whopping $40 million through fraudulent claims.
According to a press statement released on Tuesday, SkillsFuture revealed that the group had submitted forged documents to fraudulently obtain subsidies and that the suspects reportedly belong to “an organised network that utilised nine business entities, comprising employer companies and training providers, to submit the fraudulent claims. Close to $40 million has been paid out as a result. Police has seized substantial cash and frozen a number of bank accounts involved in the case.”
Former presidential candidate Tan Kin Lian has weighed in on the scam and has asserted that the case “shows clearly the deplorable state of our civil service and the political leadership.”
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First person jailed over $40m SkillsFuture scam; helped sister hide $6.7m at home
A jobless man who helped his sister & brother-in-law launder and hide part of the proceeds of their $40 million SkillsFuture scam - the largest case of a government agency being defrauded - was sentenced to 5 yrs and 8 mths' jail on Tuesday (Nov 27).
Lee Chi Wai, 32, had helped squirrel away $6.7 million in cash and 11kg of gold valued at $626,500 at his Sengkang flat.
He also used $282,500 to buy 5kg of gold and asked his sister for a $30,000 loan to buy a car for himself.
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Man jailed 5 years and 8 months for role in $40M SkillsFuture scam
A man was on Tue (27 November) jailed for 5 yrs and 8 mths for his role in defrauding a public institution of $39.9 million.
Lee Chi Wai, 32, who acted as a money mule, pleaded guilty to two charges of acquiring criminal proceeds and one of concealing such proceeds.
A safe in the unemployed man’s flat contained nearly $7 million in ill-gotten cash & 11kg of gold in November last year, the court heard.
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SkillsFuture fraud: First syndicate member who stashed S$6.6 million in cash, 11kg of gold at home sentenced
The 1st of 5 individuals in a syndicate behind what is believed to be the largest defraudment of a public institution was sentenced to five years and eight months’ jail on Tue (Nov 27).
Lee Chi Wai, 32, pleaded guilty last week to three charges under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking & Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act. They include concealing more than S$6.6 million in cash and 11kg of gold, which form part of the S$40 million allegedly disbursed as a result of bogus SkillsFuture claims.
2 other similar offences were taken into consideration for sentencing by District Judge Luke Tan.
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First member of 5-person syndicate jailed over S$40m SkillsFuture claims scam
An unemployed man who was part of a five-person syndicate that defrauded statutory board SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) of almost S$40 million was sentenced to five years and eight months in jail on Tuesday (Nov 27).
Lee Chi Wai - the 1st person to be sentenced for the scam - was part of a criminal syndicate that had conspired to obtain training subsidies from SSG using forged documents.
The court found that Lee, 32, had helped hide criminal proceeds of S$6.7 million in cash & 11kg of gold in his home, laundering some of the cash.
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Inter-agency task force to review SkillsFuture fraud after S$40m claims scam
An inter-agency task force has been set up to conduct a “thorough review” of SkillsFuture claims, after a series of offences that involved S$40 million worth of fraudulent claims being paid out by SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG).
Speaking in Parliament on Mon (Jan 8), Minister for Education (Higher Education & Skills) Ong Ye Kung said that the task force, which is overseen by SSG’s board, will also evaluate the current fraud detection system and make recommendations for improvements.
Under the SkillsFuture national movement announced in 2015, Singaporeans aged 25 and above receive a S$500 credit from the Government to attend courses by approved training providers. The scheme is overseen by SSG.
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Suspected syndicate members behind S$40m bogus SkillsFuture claims charged
In the largest defraudment of a public institution to date, a 41-yr-old Singaporean believed to be part of a crime syndicate was charged in court on Tue (Dec 19) for allegedly making S$40 million of bogus SkillsFuture claims.
Ng Cheng Kwee was slapped with 5 charges, which include forging documents to pass off as a public servant in order to obtain training subsidies from SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG), concealing benefits from the criminal conduct and obstructing justice.
He is the 5th suspect charged in connection with this case and was described by prosecutors as one of the main perpetrators of the crimes. Four others - two men and two women aged 30 to 59 - were hauled to court last month for a series of alleged offences ranging from fraud to receiving as well as hiding criminal proceeds. Here are examples of previous cases which grabbed the headlines in recent years:
- Over five years, two female former employees cheated the Singapore Statutory Boards Employees' Co-operative Thrift and Loan Society of S$5.1 milllion worth of its members' savings. They duped the organisation into issuing cheques using names of phantom members. In August, Arni Ahmad, 41, was sentenced to 12 years jail, while her accomplice Hanati Jani, 50, was jailed nine years and eight months.
- Four men – aged between 29 and 41 – were charged in July, after they allegedly submitted sham SkillsFuture Credit claims worth S$73,000 from hundreds of individuals who had not attended any courses. This was done through training provider firm Biz HR Solutionz, which was subsequently suspended from getting government funding under the scheme. The case is still ongoing.
- In January, SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) discovered that 4,400 individuals had submitted false claims, encashing their SkillsFuture Credit without attending any courses. The bogus claims, which amounted to some S$2.2 million, were detected after SSG's data analytics system found thousands of claims flooding in for the same course. Investigations showed that the individuals acted independently and did not conspire with the training provider.
- A magician, S Chandran, was charged in January with 58 counts under the Income Tax Act for making fraudulent claims under the Productivity and Innovation Credit (PIC) scheme. Between June 2013 and November 2014, he allegedly helped 49 claimants to falsely obtain cash payouts amounting to S$1.1 million in total under the scheme. Chandran had allegedly acted as a PIC broker and received about S$400,000 from the payouts. The case is still ongoing.
- In 2014, former Ministry of Foreign Affairs protocol chief Lim Cheng Hoe was sentenced to 15 months' jail, after he had cheated the Government of nearly S$89,000 over five years, by overstating expense claims for boxes of pineapple tarts and bottles of wine. They were bought as gifts for official overseas trips and visits.
- In 2011, two former Singapore Land Authority (SLA) officers were jailed for cheating the organisation of S$12.5 million. Koh Seah Wee and Lim Chai Meng submitted false invoices over two years through various IT firms for fictitious maintenance services and goods that were never needed or delivered. Koh, SLA's former deputy director of technology and infrastructure, was jailed 22 years, while former manager Lim received a 15-year prison sentence.
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Was SkillsFuture Scam A Case Of Criminal Masterminds Or A Flaw In The System?
They’re not the only ones.
While $40 million does make it the largest amount ever cheated, it is perhaps more surprising that this wasn’t the first time SSG had been cheated of their money:
- In January, a total of 4,400 individuals were found to have submitted false claims by cashing in their credits but not actually attending any courses. Hilariously, the system detected thousands of claims flooding for the exact same course but revealed that everyone involved had actually acted independently. A total of $2.2 million was given out.
- In July, four men were charged for submitted fake SSG claims worth $73,000 from hundreds of people who didn’t actually attend any courses. The case is still currently ongoing investigations.
- A duo was sentenced on Tuesday (19 Nov) for submitting fake claims for courses that didn’t exist. They successfully defrauded nearly $20,000.
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