Singapore’s second coordinated anti-scam operation, running from April 16 to May 31, 2026, prevented more than $4.2 million in potential crypto losses. The Singapore Police Force worked directly with seven exchanges — Coinbase, Coinhako, Gemini, Independent Reserve, OKX, StraitsX, and Upbit — alongside blockchain analytics firms Chainalysis and TRM Labs. Authorities conducted over 145 targeted interventions, including phone calls and home visits to potential victims. Combined with a pilot operation in March-April that blocked roughly $2.86 million, the two initiatives stopped over $7 million in scam-related transfers.
How the operation worked
Rather than waiting for victims to report losses, police used transaction pattern data from Chainalysis and TRM Labs to flag suspicious wallet movements in near real time. Once a lead was identified, officers contacted the would-be victim directly. In some cases they physically showed up at someone’s door. The approach shortened the window between scam initiation and intervention, giving criminals less time to move funds. The first pilot ran from March 16 to April 15 and proved the model; the second expanded exchange participation from three to seven.
Public-private partnerships in focus
The list of participating exchanges reads like a who’s-who of regulated crypto platforms in Singapore: Coinbase, Gemini, and OKX alongside domestic players like Coinhako and StraitsX. Independent Reserve and Upbit rounded out the group. The Singapore Police Force stressed that sustained cooperation between law enforcement and private industry was essential to the operation’s success. Chainalysis and TRM Labs provided the analytical firepower, tracing wallet histories and flagging red-flag addresses before funds left the ecosystem.
Broader enforcement moves
The anti-scam push comes as Singapore tightens its overall crypto enforcement posture. In May, authorities announced a dedicated Cyber Command unit slated to begin operations in July 2026. Meanwhile, former Hodlnaut CEO Zhu Juntao was charged by Singapore prosecutors over alleged false disclosures tied to the 2022 Terra ecosystem collapse. That case is separate from the anti-scam operations, but it reinforces the message that regulatory scrutiny in the city-state isn’t limited to consumer protection.
The next concrete milestone is the Cyber Command unit’s launch next month. Whether that unit will absorb the anti-scam task force or run parallel remains an open question — one the police force hasn’t yet answered publicly.
