What are the money mule offences?
A person who allows his or her bank account, other payment account or Singpass credentials to be used by others to move the proceeds of scams is described as a “money mule”. Since 8 February 2024, this conduct has been dealt with by, among others, the following main offences in the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992 (“CDSA”) and the Computer Misuse Act 1993 (“CMA”). The table below sets out these offences, together with the related money laundering offences and the general offences used before that date, and their maximum punishments.
| Offence | What it covers | Maximum punishment for an individual |
|---|---|---|
| Handing over a payment account without taking reasonable steps CDSA s 55A(1)(b)(ii) (from 8 Feb 2024) | This covers a person who gives another person access to or control of his or her bank account or other payment account without taking reasonable steps to find out what the other person intends to use it for, where the account is then used to move criminal proceeds. | Fine up to $50,000, imprisonment up to 3 years, or both |
| Moving money through one’s own account without taking reasonable steps CDSA s 55A(1)(b)(iii) (from 8 Feb 2024) | This covers a person who does not hand over the account, but receives money into it and transfers it on, on someone else’s instructions, without taking reasonable steps to find out where the money came from or where it is going. | Fine up to $50,000, imprisonment up to 3 years, or both |
| Disclosing one’s own Singpass credentials CMA s 8A(1) (from 8 Feb 2024) | This covers a person who discloses his or her own Singpass credentials, knowing or having reasonable grounds to believe that they will be used to commit or facilitate an offence. | Fine up to $10,000, imprisonment up to 3 years, or both; for offences from 30 Dec 2025, caning up to 12 strokes in specified cases |
| Obtaining, retaining or supplying another person’s Singpass credentials CMA s 8B(1) (from 8 Feb 2024) | This covers a person who obtains or keeps another person’s Singpass credentials, or supplies them to someone else, unless this was for a purpose unconnected with committing an offence. | Fine up to $10,000, imprisonment up to 3 years, or both; on a second or later conviction, fine up to $20,000, imprisonment up to 5 years, or both; for offences from 30 Dec 2025, caning up to 12 strokes in specified cases |
| Money laundering (knowing or having reasonable grounds to believe) CDSA s 51(1) | Helping someone else keep or control criminal proceeds, knowing or having reasonable grounds to believe that they are criminal proceeds | Fine up to $500,000, imprisonment up to 10 years, or both; for offences from 30 Dec 2025, caning up to 12 strokes in specified cases involving scam proceeds |
| Money laundering (rashly or negligently) CDSA s 51(1A) (from 8 Feb 2024) | Helping someone else keep or control criminal proceeds, rashly or negligently | Rashly: fine up to $250,000, imprisonment up to 5 years, or both. Negligently: fine up to $150,000, imprisonment up to 3 years, or both |
| Before 8 Feb 2024: handing over a bank account CMA s 3(1) read with s 12(1) | Abetting unauthorised access to computer material, by giving another person access to the account | First conviction: fine up to $5,000, imprisonment up to 2 years, or both; second or later conviction: fine up to $10,000, imprisonment up to 3 years, or both |
| Before 8 Feb 2024: opening an account in order to hand it over Penal Code 1871 s 417 | Cheating the bank into opening the account | Imprisonment up to 3 years, a fine, or both |
| Before 8 Feb 2024: disclosing one’s own Singpass credentials CMA s 8(1) | Disclosing one’s own Singpass credentials, under the offence that applied before section 8A | First conviction: fine up to $10,000, imprisonment up to 3 years, or both; second or later conviction: fine up to $20,000, imprisonment up to 5 years, or both |
How do these offences differ from the money laundering offences?
The difference lies in what the Prosecution must show about the accused’s state of mind:
- The money laundering offences (section 51 of the CDSA) require the Prosecution to prove something about the accused’s state of mind in relation to the money itself: that he or she knew, or had reasonable grounds to believe, that the money was the proceeds of crime (section 51(1)), or was rash or negligent as to that (section 51(1A)). These offences are explained in our page on money laundering offences.
- The money mule offences (section 55A of the CDSA) do not. The Prosecution need only prove that the accused handed over the account, or moved money through it, without taking reasonable steps to check the other person’s purpose or the source or destination of the money. Whether the accused knew or suspected that the money was criminal is not an element of the offence.
- The sentencing frameworks differ. The money laundering offences are sentenced under the framework described in our page on how the courts sentence money laundering offences; the money mule offences under the benchmark and matrix described in our page on how the courts sentence money mules.
In practice, the same facts may be charged under either set of provisions, depending on what the Prosecution considers it can prove about the accused’s state of mind. Which provision is charged therefore matters a great deal, and is a matter on which representations (i.e., submissions asking the Prosecution to reconsider or amend the charges) may be made to the Prosecution.
What are the recent changes to the law?
Before 8 February 2024: no offences aimed at money mules
Before 8 February 2024, there were no offences aimed specifically at money mules, and the general offences marked “Before 8 Feb 2024” in the table above were used. The money laundering offences in the CDSA were available, but required proof that the account holder knew or had reasonable grounds to believe that the money was linked to crime. At the second reading of the amending Bills (on 8 May 2023), Parliament was told that of some 19,000 money mules investigated between 2020 and 2022, fewer than 250 were prosecuted.
New offences from 8 February 2024
The Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) (Amendment) Bill (Bill No 12/2023) and the Computer Misuse (Amendment) Bill (Bill No 13/2023) received their second reading on 8 May 2023. The amendments came into force on 8 February 2024. They created the offences in section 55A of the CDSA and sections 8A and 8B of the CMA, and added the rash and negligent money laundering offences in section 51(1A) of the CDSA (see our page on money laundering offences). Conduct before that date continues to be charged under the predecessor provisions (see our page on how the courts sentence money mules).
Caning (offences from 30 December 2025)
For scam-related offences committed on or after 30 December 2025, those who supply bank accounts or Singpass credentials to scammers may, in specified cases, also be caned (up to 12 strokes).
What else can follow a conviction?
Money in the account may be frozen or seized by the police, and may become the subject of confiscation proceedings (see our page on frozen bank accounts). A conviction carries a criminal record, and whether it may later be treated as spent is governed by the Registration of Criminals Act 1949. For foreign nationals, a conviction may have immigration consequences, including the cancellation of work passes.