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sometimes i cannot decide whether to admire or be disgusted by the mitigation pleas by the defense lawyers. ---- Ex-bank manager jailed 7 years for cheating, money laundering By Alvina Soh | Posted: 29 June 2011 1806 hrs SINGAPORE : A former OCBC relationship manager was jailed seven years on Wednesday for cheating and money laundering. 32-year-old Tan Wei Chong, who had been with the bank since 2003, committed the offences between November 2007 and August 2010. The total amount Tan took from his clients was about S$2.3 million. He was found guilty of 11 counts of cheating the bank, and four charges of transferring the money to various accounts, including those of his family members. He faced 46 charges in total, with 31 taken into consideration. Investigations revealed that Tan took funds belonging to his clients through the use of debit authorisation forms, application forms for cashier's orders, and cash withdrawal forms. He had his clients sign on blank forms or forged their signatures, then telling them it was for investment purposes. Deputy Public Prosecutor Teo Guan Siew said in his report that Tan did not use his own bank account to receive the monies he had taken from his clients. He transferred most of it to a joint account maintained by four people, including Tan's brother-in-law. Some of the monies were also transferred to several accounts, including those of his family members, to reduce suspicion. In mitigation, defence counsel Derek Kang, said Tan was a diligent worker but habitually gambled online through online casinos and had also lost money from trading shares. He added that Tan became desperate from gambling and resorted to siphoning away his clients' money. Mr Kang also noted that Tan did not commit the offences as part of a syndicate, and he did not target vulnerable victims like the elderly. Tan, who had his services terminated on 8 September 2010 remained emotionless as he was sentenced. - CNA /ls