Eight arrested for registering shell companies to get corporate SIM cards for criminal syndicates

[zhiwei]

Eight arrested for registering shell companies to get corporate SIM cards for criminal syndicates​

Published Sep 27, 2025, 12:54 PM
Updated Sep 27, 2025, 01:52 PM
www.straitstimes.com

SINGAPORE - Eight people have been arrested for their suspected involvement in registering shell companies to procure corporate SIM cards for criminals.

In a statement on Sept 27, the police said the suspects – seven men and one woman, aged between 22 and 56 – had been rounded up between Sept 18 and 26 during an islandwide operation.

Carried out by officers from the Anti-Scam Command, it was aimed at shell companies that had been registering post-paid corporate SIM cards, which end up being used for criminal activities.

Based on preliminary investigations, the police said these suspects were allegedly offered payments between $500 and $1,700 for registering between 90 and 480 SIM cards.

They were allegedly told to set up the shell companies in order to purchase SIM cards in bulk, which would then be handed over to criminal syndicates.

These SIM cards would then be used by syndicates to facilitate communication for illicit activities, such as scams and vice, among others.

If found guilty of providing fraudulently registered SIM cards to criminal syndicates, the suspects can be jailed up to three years, fined $10,000, or both.

As they had also set up the shell companies, if they are found to have failed to exercise due diligence in the discharge of duties as a director under the Companies Act, they can also be jailed for up to 12 months, or fined up to $5,000.