A former Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) officer has pleaded guilty to stealing more than US$1.7 million (S$2.2 million) in cryptocurrency from a man’s condominium unit after secretly photographing his wallet’s recovery information in late 2022.
Teo Rong Xuan, 34, previously a captain in the Naval Diving Unit, admitted to breaking into the victim’s home and using the data to access his cryptocurrency account. The stolen digital funds were later spent on gambling, property payments, and luxury goods.
How the Theft Happened
According to ST, Teo met the 30-year-old victim, a Chinese national, through a mutual acquaintance identified as “Zee” in June 2022. The victim owned a Ledger Nano X cold wallet—an offline hardware device that stores digital assets. Its 24-word seed phrase, necessary for wallet recovery, was handwritten and kept in his residence.
On December 31, 2022, knowing the victim was not home, Teo entered his condominium using an access card he had kept from a previous visit. Inside, he located the piece of paper containing the seed phrase and took a photograph before leaving.
The following day, he used the photographed information to unlock the wallet and transfer 1.7 million Tether coins (USDT)—equivalent to about US$1.7 million—into his own account.
Spending the Illicit Gains
Investigations later revealed that Teo converted the stolen cryptocurrency into cash and used it for personal expenditures.
According to Mothership, he reportedly spent S$885,000 on gambling losses through Singapore Pools, another S$684,000 on illegal betting sites, S$115,000 to repay his housing loan, and S$53,000 for CPF top-ups. He also bought seven Rolex watches worth over S$130,000 and made a S$98,800 down payment on an Audi A5. No restitution has been made to the victim.
Discovery and Confession
The victim realized his funds were missing in March 2023 and hired blockchain analytics firm SlowMist to help trace the transactions. The firm’s findings linked part of the stolen assets to Teo’s cryptocurrency wallet.
When confronted, Teo admitted to the theft, claiming he acted out of desperation after suffering significant losses following the FTX cryptocurrency exchange collapse in 2022. He was subsequently arrested and charged with housebreaking, computer misuse, and money-laundering-related offences.
Teo left the SAF in 2023. The Ministry of Defence (Mindef) confirmed that he had been discharged, emphasizing that the SAF holds its personnel to “high standards of discipline and integrity” and that offenders “will be dealt with in accordance with the law.”
Teo, represented by lawyer Gino Hardial Singh, entered his guilty plea on October 1, 2025, and is scheduled for sentencing on November 14, 2025.
Image via Google
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