Man admits trying to dupe Iras into disbursing claims under PIC scheme
Between September 2013 and May 2014, Tan Sin Long ran a scam in which he tried to dupe the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras) into disbursing public funds under the Productivity and Innovation Credit (PIC) scheme.
He started off by claiming his mother and sister were working for him at CXL Holdings, a consultation and investment firm he owned. The firm had no employees at the time.
The claims were approved and the Iras disbursed a total of $24,000 in January 2014.
The 39-year-old Singaporean then continued the scam, roping in his wife and friends, among others.
Yesterday, Tan admitted in court to being the prime mover of a ruse that tried to dupe the Iras into disbursing $745,200 of public funds.
The PIC scheme granted cash payouts and bonuses to businesses to spur productivity.
To qualify for PIC payouts, companies must already have at least three local employees working for them and must also incur business expenditures.
Tan's scam resulted in the Iras disbursing $96,600 in cash payouts and bonuses. It did not disburse the remaining $648,600.
He pleaded guilty yesterday to two counts each of giving false information to the Comptroller of Income Tax and assisting others to obtain cash payouts by giving fraudulent information on their application forms.
He also admitted to one count of assisting a man to obtain a cash payout by preparing a false invoice. Eleven other similar charges will be considered during sentencing.
Tan, who is represented by lawyer S. S. Dhillon, has made a restitution of $600 to the Iras. He was offered bail of $30,000 and will be back in court on April 17.
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