Indian-origin man gets 7 years jail term for cheating a bank relating to housing deals in Singapore

A 54-year-old Indian-origin man received a prison sentence of seven years and six months for his involvement in a group that defrauded a bank of more than SGD 5.1 million in loans related to the sale of two properties in Singapore as per reports on Tuesday.
The man identified as Bijabahadur Rai Shree Kantrai was found guilty on seven charges of a similar nature.Four other individuals, namely Sufandi Ahmad, 44, Kok Chiew Leong, 51, Mohamed Haron Hassan, 43, and Juma’at Johari, 44, were also sentenced to different terms for their roles in the fraudulent scheme that occurred during 2013 and 2014, The Straits Times newspaper reported.
The prosecution alleged that the sellers of two properties, located near Yio Chu Kang Road and Woodlands Street 41, had paid a total of SGD 7,64,000 in cash back to the accused individuals.
Kantrai had instructed the distribution of money among the group’s four other members who collaborated in a scheme that deceived Maybank into disbursing mortgage loans totaling over SGD 5.1 million, linked to the sale of two houses, according to the report.
Deputy public prosecutors Suhas Malhotra, Joseph Gwee, and Matthew Choo revealed in court documents that, as part of the scheme, the property sellers were persuaded to inflate the sale prices of their houses and to provide “cash back” to the accused parties after the transactions were completed.
(With inputs from PTI)