Singapore's Quest to Compensate Scam Victims Hits Operational Roadblocks

Singapore is exploring ways to compensate scam victims amid operational challenges. Minister Sun Xueling highlighted the difficulties in tracking and allocating funds due to their commingled nature. Despite recovering over SGD 182 million from scams, the net loss in 2024 remains significant at SGD 930 million.

Singapore is facing a conundrum over how best to compensate victims of scams, with operational obstacles complicating potential solutions, according to parliamentary sessions held on Friday.

Minister of State for Home Affairs Sun Xueling revealed to lawmakers that creating a unified fund meant to reimburse scam victims from recovered assets poses significant challenges. In 2024, scams resulted in losses of about SGD 1.1 billion with SGD 182 million successfully recuperated, yet this left a net loss of SGD 930 million.

The minister further elaborated on the complexities involved in verifying that recovered funds actually originate from scams. This issue is exacerbated in cases involving cryptocurrency, making victim compensation an even more daunting task.

(With inputs from agencies.)