Singapore, Feb 28 – The Singapore government is exploring different ways to compensate victims of scams, though establishing a consolidated fund for restitution presents significant operational hurdles, Minister of State for Home Affairs Sun Xueling told parliament on Friday.
The country saw a staggering SGD 1.1 billion (USD 822 million) lost to scams in 2024, with the Singapore Police Force successfully recovering over SGD 182 million. This leaves a net loss of approximately SGD 930 million for scam victims.
Addressing a lawmaker’s inquiry on whether funds confiscated from recent money laundering cases could be used for scam victim compensation, Minister Sun highlighted key challenges. She explained that money recovered by the Anti-Scam Centre is not always exclusively linked to scams, as criminal syndicates often engage in multiple illegal activities, including illicit money lending.
"There could be other proceeds that pertain to other forms of crime, and therefore, other victims who may also feel they have a claim to those proceeds," Sun noted.
Another challenge lies in tracking and verifying individual claims due to the commingling of illicit funds, especially in cases involving cryptocurrency. This complexity makes it difficult to ensure restitution is allocated to the rightful victims.
“With a consolidated restitution fund, it would be difficult to determine which victim has a right to the recovered money,” Sun stated, emphasizing that the amount retrieved is only a fraction of the total losses. “There are going to be far more claimants than actual proceeds available.”
Even if compensation were possible, victims would only recover a small portion of their lost funds, she added.
Meanwhile, Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam informed parliament on Wednesday that assets seized in connection with Singapore’s SGD 3 billion (USD 2.2 billion) money laundering case are gradually being liquidated and transferred to government coffers. As of December 2024, the state had liquidated 54 properties, 33 vehicles, and 11 country club memberships, with proceeds from non-cash assets directed into Singapore’s consolidated fund.
While authorities continue their efforts to curb financial fraud, the feasibility of victim compensation remains a complex issue due to legal and logistical constraints.
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