Seven employers charged over CPF paid for locals who never worked for them

Enforcement action: MOM, 16 October 2026.

On 8 October 2026, seven employers and an administrative assistant were charged for falsely declaring that CPF contributions made by their companies were for their local employees, when those locals did not actually work for the companies. One employer was also charged with allegedly obstructing an employment inspector, and administrative financial penalties will be imposed on three phantom workers. In a separate case, two individuals who ran an Ayurvedic centre were found guilty of false salary declarations: they paid two Employment Pass holders between $800 and $2,300 a month, against declared salaries of $5,100 and $7,350.

These are offences under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act 1990. A false declaration in a work pass application carries a fine of up to $20,000, imprisonment of up to two years, or both; obstructing an investigation carries the same. MOM can also bar those convicted from employing foreign workers.

What this means for a Singapore SME

Local headcount is not a number to be managed on paper. The CPF contributions a business declares are declarations about who its local employees are, and MOM has stepped up investigations into suspected cases. A business that declares people who do not work for it risks prosecution and a bar on employing foreign workers. MOM also reminds the public not to accept CPF contributions from an employer they do not work for, and asks anyone aware of such activity to report it through the Report an Infringement eService.