Two Chinese Nationals Charged Over Counterfeit S$100 Notes Found at Marina Bay Sands
Singapore Police will charge two Chinese nationals on 26 August 2026 over an alleged conspiracy to counterfeit Singapore currency notes, after a counterfeit S$100 note was detected during a large cash transaction at Marina Bay Sands Casino.
According to the Singapore Police Force, officers received a report at about 3:50 a.m. on 24 August after a 33-year-old man handed S$150,000 in cash to a casino cage cashier and asked for the amount to be deposited into his casino account. While counting the cash, the cashier found one S$100 Portrait Series note bearing the word “COPY” and alerted Police.
Officers from Central Police Division and the Commercial Affairs Department attended the case. Police subsequently escorted the man to his hotel room, where a 25-year-old woman was seen leaving with a printer. A search found 121 counterfeit S$100 notes in her possession. Police also seized suspected counterfeiting equipment from the hotel room, including bottled ink, paper and a paper cutter.
The two are due to be charged with engaging in a conspiracy to counterfeit Singapore currency notes under Section 489A read with Section 109 of the Penal Code 1871. The offence carries a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment and a fine. The allegations have not yet resulted in convictions.
The case illustrates how casinos can become a detection point for currency-integrity and broader financial-crime risks when large cash transactions enter casino accounts. Here, the suspected counterfeit note was identified by the cage cashier during cash counting, triggering an immediate law-enforcement response.
