Number of Fraud Cases and Amount Defrauded Since Inception of SkillsFuture Programmes

Mr Leong Mun Wai asked the Minister for Education since the inception of SkillsFuture programmes (a) what is the annual expenditure; and (b) what is the number of fraud cases and the amount defrauded.

Mr Chan Chun Sing: SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) was set up in 2016 as a Statutory Board under the Ministry of Education to coordinate and drive the implementation of the national SkillsFuture Movement. SkillsFuture subsidies to individuals and companies amount to about $700 million annually.

Since its inception in 2016, SSG has encountered three unrelated cases of fraudulent claims. The total amount defrauded was about $42 million, including $40 million by a criminal syndicate in 2017.