Man transferred $8,900 for exchange to Chinese renminbi in scam, 2 men arrested

Two men, aged 32 and 33, were arrested for their suspected involvement in a currency exchange scam.

The police said in a statement that they received a report from a victim on Jan 16.

The victim had responded to an online request from one of the men to exchange Singapore currency (SGD) for Chinese currency (RMB).

He then met up and transferred S$8,900 worth of Chinese currency (RMB49,840) into an overseas bank account belonging to one of the men.

After he transferred the money, both of the men fled without exchanging any Chinese currency.

Officers established the men's identities and arrested them within two hours. The police managed to recover S$4,570 from the defrauded amount, but the rest had been dissipated to overseas bank accounts.

The duo had executed the scheme to cheat the victim and will be charged in court on Jan 18.

The offence of abetment by conspiracy to cheat carries a jail term of up to 10 years and a fine.