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The Police will be charging Singapore Precious Metals Exchange Pte Ltd (“SPME”) for allegedly carrying on a business of providing payment services without a licence, and its director, Victor Foo Seang Kwang (“Foo”), for allegedly consenting to the same.

SPME operates a precious metals exchange platform that allows individuals and institutions to buy, store and trade gold bars, among other precious metals, in Singapore. The platform also facilitates peer-to-peer trading of gold bars. Based on investigations by the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD), SPME had allegedly provided cross-border payment services to a group of its customers (“the payer entities”) without a licence. In connection with this, SPME had allegedly received monies in its bank accounts from the payer entities, which were intended to be transmitted to other customers (the “payee entities”). It had also allegedly received instructions from the payer and payee entities to execute transactions relating to the purchase and sale of gold bars, which are suspected to have served as a justification for the flow of these monies from the payer entities to the payee entities. 

From 28 January 2020 to 12 September 2022, SPME’s bank accounts in Singapore received nearly USD 81 million from bank accounts held by the payer entities (most of whom are based overseas) which were intended for further transmission to bank accounts held by the payee entities outside Singapore. Foo is alleged to have, as a director, consented to SPME’s carrying on of the said business of providing payment services to the payer entities.   

CAD’s investigations established that SPME does not have a licence to carry on a business that provides any type of payment service in Singapore under the Payment Services Act 2019. Additionally, SPME is not considered an exempted payment service provider under the Payment Services Act 2019.

Foo and SPME will be charged in court on 22 January 2026 under Section 5 of the Payment Services Act 2019. For individuals, the offence is punishable with a fine not exceeding S$125,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, or both. For entities, the offence is punishable by a fine not exceeding S$250,000 and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding S$25,000 for every day or part of a day during which the offence continues after conviction.

The Police will not hesitate to act against any individual or entity involved in providing unlicensed cross-border money transfer services. Such unlicensed services may be used to facilitate illicit cross-border financial activities, such as money laundering. Businesses should ensure that they comply with all relevant legal and regulatory requirements in Singapore, including any licensing requirements applicable to their activities.