SINGAPORE: A Georgian national, who masterminded a plan to come to Singapore to commit theft, came here with two others and stole currencies worth more than $133,000 (RM461,000) from a money changer.

Darsania Tamazi, 70, who flew here with countrymen Abralava Irakli and Shengella Sulkhani on Nov 24, 2022, was sentenced on Friday to two years and six months’ jail after he pleaded guilty to offences including theft.

Irakli, 37, who admitted to similar offences, was ordered to spend two years and four months behind bars. Sulkhani, 39, is still at large.

Deputy Public Prosecutor R. Arvindren told the court: “The accused persons had chosen Singapore as a target… as they perceived Singapore to be rich, and had travelled to Singapore for the sole purpose of committing the offences.”

On Nov 27, 2022, Tamazi and Irakli went to a Little India money changer and exchanged US dollars for Singapore dollars.

Over the next few days, the pair continued to exchange monies with the business owner, with progressively higher amounts. This helped to gain the victim’s trust, said the DPP.

The two offenders returned on Dec 2, 2022 as they wanted to supposedly buy €70,000 (S$99,400 at the time) and US$25,000 (S$33,750 at the time) by using Singapore dollars. Sulkhani waited for them nearby.

The business owner handed the foreign currencies to Tamazi, who put them into a translucent plastic bag.

He then placed the bag inside a black bag which had different compartments, one of which contained pre-packed stacks of counterfeit money.

The DPP said: “The purpose of putting the monies into a translucent plastic bag is to make it more difficult for the victim to differentiate the currencies properly.”

Tamazi told Irakli to pass him a bag that had a lock. Tamazi then transferred all the counterfeit cash into Irakli’s bag, leaving the genuine monies inside the black bag.

Tamazi locked Irakli’s bag and left it with the business owner, who was told that they would return with their passports and Singapore dollars to complete the transaction.

The three Georgian men took a taxi to Queen Street bus terminal before they boarded another taxi to Malaysia. They later returned to Georgia.

When Tamazi and Irakli did not come back more than three hours later, the victim cut open Irakli’s bag and alerted the police when he found the counterfeit money inside.

Court documents did not disclose what happened next but Tamazi and Irakli later returned to Malaysia.

On July 27, 2023, the Malaysian police arrested the pair, who were then taken back to Singapore. They have made no restitution.

They were the second group of Georgians who were dealt with in court in 2023 after targeting money changers in Singapore.

In that unrelated case, two Georgians – Akhalaia Irakli and Malishava Joni – were jailed in September for offences including stealing more than $100,000 from a Peninsula Shopping Centre money changer in Coleman Street in April 2023.

Akhalaia Irakli, then 46, who had hatched a plan to commit theft in Singapore, was sentenced to two years and two months’ jail while Joni, then 55, was given two years’ jail. – The Straits Times/ANN