S’pore man to be charged over allegedly receiving more than $250,000 in unlicensed money transfers
SINGAPORE – A man will be charged on Tuesday (Nov 2) for his suspected involvement in providing unlicensed money transfer services involving more than $250,000, as well as money laundering and obstruction of justice.
The police said on Monday that they had received information of payments arising from an alleged overseas fraud being made to an account in Singapore in May 2020.
The man, 31, is believed to have provided a payment service without a valid licence when he facilitated the receipt of cross-border money transfers amounting to about $251,000 and subsequent cash withdrawals amounting to about $189,700 via third-party bank accounts between February and May 2020.
He had allegedly delivered cash withdrawals amounting to about $94,500 to people unknown to him.
The man was also purportedly found to be in possession of about $41,000 that was sent to his DBS bank account in Singapore by a third-party account holder.
Investigations revealed that the man had allegedly deleted information in his mobile phone, including his chat logs with third-party account holders, said the police.
He had allegedly done so to prevent the police from accessing them, potentially obstructing investigations into his purported arrangement with the account holders.
The offence of carrying on a business of providing unlicensed cross-border money transfer services carries a jail term of up to three years, a fine of up to $125,000, or both.
Individuals found guilty of using or possessing any property that may be reasonably suspected of being benefits of criminal conduct will face a jail term of up to three years, a fine of up to $150,000, or both.
Those found guilty of obstructing the course of justice will face a jail term of up to seven years, a fine, or both.
“We take a serious view of the misuse of the financial system to launder proceeds of crime, and offenders will be dealt with in accordance with the law,” added the police.