The Police will be charging two men, aged 65 and 28, for their suspected involvement in carrying out a business of providing payment services without a license.
Preliminary investigations by the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) revealed that between July 2020 and April 2022, a corporate bank account in Singapore was allegedly used to receive funds from outside Singapore for persons in Singapore on 58 occasions. The bank account received almost USD45 million in funds. The 65-year-old man is the director of the company, while the 28-year-old man is purportedly in a position to influence the conduct of the company. CAD’s investigations established that neither the men nor the company have a license to carry out a business that provides any type of payment service in Singapore, nor were they considered as exempted payment service providers under the Payment Services Act 2019.
The two men will be charged in court on 26 June 2025 under Section 5 of the Payment Services Act 2019. For individuals, the offence is punishable with a fine not exceeding $125,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or both. For corporations, the offence is punishable with a fine not exceeding $250,000 and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding $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. Members of the public are strongly advised to use financial institutions or payment service providers licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore when conducting cross-border money transfers. The Police would like to caution against engaging in unlicensed payment service activities, as unlicensed payment service providers are not regulated and are not subjected to stringent anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing measures.
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
25 June 2025 @ 9:45 PM