Singapore siblings jailed 10 months after 16 firms they incorporated received US$14.6M scam proceeds

SINGAPORE: A brother and sister who ran a corporate service provider were each sentenced to 10 months’ jail for abetting nominee directors to breach the Companies Act, after companies they incorporated were linked to international scams.

Lee Ay Ling, 33, and Lee Chia Yen, 30, were sentenced on 17 December 2025.

They were also banned from acting as company directors for five years, according to the police and court proceedings.

Sentencing and charges under the Companies Act

The pair had pleaded guilty to eight charges each under the Companies Act, with another eight similar charges taken into consideration during sentencing.

The offences stemmed from their operation of Interconnect, a business that sourced locally resident nominee directors for foreign clients seeking to incorporate companies in Singapore.

Taking advantage of remote bank account opening practices during the COVID-19 pandemic, the siblings incorporated 109 companies in 2020.

Two Singaporeans were installed as nominee directors across these entities.

Sixteen of the companies later received about US$14.6 million, from victims of international business email impersonation scams, according to police investigations.

The authorities said this was the first conviction of a corporate service provider following a High Court decision that set out a stiffer sentencing framework for offences involving “silent” directors.

How Interconnect built its nominee director business

Such directors are individuals who lend their names to companies but fail to exercise oversight or discharge their statutory duties.

The two Singaporeans who acted as nominee directors were convicted and sentenced earlier.

Bernard Chng Kok Leng was jailed for six weeks, while Tay Chee Seng received a four-week jail term.

Both men were also banned from acting as company directors for five years.

Interconnect was set up in 2018 and offered corporate services such as company incorporation. It charged between S$500 and S$1,000 for nominee director services.

These services were meant to satisfy the legal requirement for at least one company director to ordinarily reside in Singapore.

Lee Ay Ling, a qualified accountant, was the main decision-maker at Interconnect.

Her younger brother, Lee Chia Yen, who holds a finance degree, handled marketing, sales, and client dealings.

Initially, Interconnect required foreign clients to travel to Singapore for in-person meetings. These meetings were meant to verify identities and the purpose of setting up companies, prosecutors said.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Vincent Ong told the court that both siblings understood the importance of these verifications before proceeding with incorporations.

In April 2020, Lee Ay Ling learnt that some banks were allowing foreigners to open local accounts via video conferencing, due to pandemic-related restrictions.

She decided to capitalise on this practice to increase Interconnect’s client base, the prosecution said.

Reliance on overseas agent and limited due diligence

On 27 May 2020, a person purporting to be a Chinese agent named Chen Guang contacted Interconnect through WeChat.

Chen told Lee Chia Yen that he ran a business in Shenzhen helping Chinese clients incorporate companies overseas, and claimed experience in Hong Kong incorporations.

He said he had a pool of Chinese clients with purportedly legitimate businesses who wanted to set up companies and bank accounts in Singapore.

After initial discussions, the siblings accepted Chen’s referrals without independently meeting or speaking to the clients, Mr Ong said.

Instead, they relied on Chen to verify the clients’ identities and purposes, while Interconnect received documents such as passport images and business licences.

The siblings conducted only basic checks, including online name searches and reviews on a Chinese corporate database, Qichacha.

They did not verify the authenticity of the documents and relied on Chen’s assurances, the prosecution said.

Recruitment and treatment of nominee directors

Unwilling to act as directors themselves, the siblings recruited others through online advertisements to serve as nominee directors.

Chng and Tay responded to these advertisements and were told they would not need to manage the companies.

They were promised S$250 twice a year for each company they served as nominee director.

Chng questioned whether he might incur liability or be exposed to money laundering risks. Lee Chia Yen assured him Interconnect would conduct due diligence.

Scam-linked fund flows through incorporated companies

Chng later became nominee director for 52 companies, earning S$13,000. UOB accounts of 10 of these companies received about US$12.6 million traced to criminal proceeds.

Tay was appointed as nominee director for 57 companies and earned S$14,250. Six of these companies received more than US$2 million linked to criminal proceeds.

The court heard details of one scam involving a Belgian company, Grib Diamond NV, which lost US$10 million.

The victim transferred funds to Hang Yi, a company incorporated by Interconnect in June 2020 with Chng as nominee director.

The emails directing the transfers impersonated the Belgian firm’s chief executive and formed part of a business email impersonation scam.

The entire sum was quickly remitted out to accounts in Hong Kong, mainland China, and Singapore, and was not recovered.

The Lee siblings came under investigation on 4 September 2020. They subsequently resigned from all secretarial roles linked to the 109 companies.

Court’s findings on culpability and aggravating factors

In sentencing, District Judge Sharmila Sripathy-Shanaz said the siblings had deliberately structured their business around nominee directors who surrendered control.

It was particularly aggravating that the risks were shifted to the nominee directors and monetised, the judge said.

She added that the siblings’ culpability was heightened by the misleading assurances given to secure Chng’s and Tay’s participation.

Under the Companies Act, breaches of directors’ duties carry penalties of up to 12 months’ imprisonment, a fine of up to S$5,000, and disqualification of up to five years.