News

Man Whose Bank Accounts Were Used to Receive Over $500K from Scams Sentenced to 27 Months’ Jailtime

2022-03-31 , 10:25 am

Scammers seem to be getting bolder recently. We have had local phishing scams, but now one man has taken it to the next level—by scamming foreign companies.

Scammed Over $500K

Mohd Jamail Khan Banakhani Shafi Khan, now 56, received US$49,956 (S$67,633) in his personal bank account.

He also received more than $460,000 in a bank account of a firm in which he was a director and shareholder at the time.

The total amount of money scammed adds up to over a whopping $500,000.

Sent Spoofed Emails to Vietnam-based Company

So just how did he manage to receive this load of money?

Khan spoofed emails that caused a Vietnam-based company called Trading Scientific Technological Materials to be tricked into handing over the monies to Khan’s firm.

But that’s not what he said.

Khan had claimed that his company received money for a multimillion-dollar property investment.

However, he had no experience or qualifications to conduct property investments or management.

Khan had also claimed that the sum of money was from a foreigner named Chinazaepere Raphael Okoli.

Reported by Vietnam Company’s Director

Khan is a director and shareholder of Singapore-registered companies Jars Technology, and Jars Investments and Holdings.

In 2015, he was previously investigated by the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) for money laundering over cash received from one “John Mark”.

And it seems Khan did not cover his trail well.

Join our Telegram channel for more entertaining and informative articles at https://t.me/goodyfeedsg or download the Goody Feed app here: https://goodyfeed.com/app/

On 20 June 2016, the director of the scammed Vietnam-based company lodged a police report in Singapore, saying that his firm had been deceived into transferring money to a Jars Technology bank account as payment for laboratory equipment.

Jars Technology had received $140,990.65 on 23 May 2016 and $321,359.83 the following month—the equivalent of what the Vietnamese firm had paid in US dollars.

Khan had consented to receive the cash, and he also knew that “John Mark” was involved in the transactions from the Vietnamese firm.

While being investigated by CAD, Khan forged an investment agreement worth US$3.5 million.

He did it to make it seem that Mr Chinazaepere had signed it and to justify the money he received.

Sent Spoofed Email (Again) to Another Company

But that’s not all the money accounted for yet.

In 2017, Khan also received US$49,956 in his personal account, this time from a company called Nama Holdings.

On 26 May that year, the deputy manager of Bank Mandiri’s Singapore branch lodged a police report that it had approved those transfers after receiving spoofed e-mails from Nama Holdings’ parent company, Madhucon Granites.

Khan again claimed that the money was for an investment.

Khan withdrew and remitted part of the funds from Nama to one Chibueze Clement Egbukichi in United Arab Emirates.

He also provided CAD with forged documents to justify the transfers but could not give details of the investment, the court heard.

Sentenced to 27 Months’ Jail

For scamming companies of over $500,000, Khan was sentenced to 27 months’ jail on Wednesday (30 Mar).

The Singaporean had earlier pleaded guilty to eight charges, including those stating that he had acquired the benefits of criminal conduct.

His bail was set at $50,000 on Wednesday and he was ordered to surrender himself at the State Courts on 4 May to begin serving his sentence.