Luke Giam Zi Hin was sentenced to six years’ jail, bringing to a close Singapore’s prosecution of an eight-member syndicate behind a S$114 million GST fraud scheme. — AFP pic Earn a fixed rate of up to 4.2%* p.a. for 210 days with Versa Save! Plus, enjoy an additional FREE RM10 when you sign up using code VERSAMM10 with a min. cash-in of RM100 today. T&Cs apply. By Malay Mail Monday, 29 Jun 2026 7:47 PM MYT SINGAPORE, June 29 — Nearly a decade after investigators began unravelling an elaborate tax fraud built on forged invoices, phantom sales and paper transactions, Singapore has concluded one of its largest prosecutions involving goods and services tax (GST) fraud.A court today sentenced 44-year-old Luke Giam Zi Hin to six years’ imprisonment for his role in a missing trader fraud (MTF) scheme that generated about S$114 million (RM358 million) in fictitious sales and led the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) to pay out nearly S$764,000 in fraudulent GST refunds, according to The Straits Times (ST).Giam pleaded guilty to one count of fraudulent trading, with a second similar charge taken into consideration during sentencing. He has made no restitution.In a joint statement after the sentencing, the Singapore Police Force and IRAS described Giam as a key member of the criminal syndicate behind the scheme.“Giam’s conviction marks the end of court proceedings against a total of eight accused persons who were charged for their involvement in the same GST MTF scheme,” the agencies said.The scheme revolved around Nagore Trading, a GST-registered company that prosecutors said used forged invoices from at least 12 local suppliers to create the false appearance of legitimate purchases. Those suppliers later told investigators they had never sold the goods listed.According to court filings cited by ST, the fake invoices were intended to show Nagore had paid both suppliers and the accompanying 7 per cent GST before “selling” the same goods to intermediary buffer companies using another layer of falsified invoices.One of those buffer companies was xShine Enterprise, whose operations Giam admitted directing.Police and IRAS said Giam instructed xShine director Marcus Tan Boon Leong to endorse Nagore’s forged invoices, issue cash vouchers to make the transactions appear genuine, and generate at least 127 fraudulent sales invoices worth more than S$46 million for exporters.The scheme culminated with exporters purportedly shipping the non-existent goods to overseas buyers arranged by the syndicate, allowing fraudulent GST refund claims to be submitted to IRAS.To reinforce the deception, Giam sometimes instructed Tan to deliver physical goods to exporters, although investigators said the items often did not match those described on the invoices. For at least 16 transactions, Giam also directed Tan to deposit nearly S$7 million into an exporter’s bank account to create the appearance of payment from overseas buyers.The syndicate ultimately lodged fraudulent GST input tax claims totalling nearly S$8 million. Prosecutors said IRAS detected much of the fraud before larger sums were released, but had already paid out nearly S$764,000 of more than S$964,000 claimed by exporters.The other seven people charged in the case have already been convicted. Six received prison terms ranging from three years to four years and 15 months for offences including fraudulent trading, forgery and falsification of accounts, while another was jailed for five months for forgery.Police and IRAS also reminded businesses that GST-registered companies which knew or should reasonably have known they were involved in an MTF arrangement could have their input tax claims denied and face an additional 10 per cent surcharge.