Four men and one woman, aged between 26 and 63, will be charged in court on 11 July 2025 for their suspected involvement in assisting with the business of unlicensed moneylending.
The four men were arrested during an island-wide operation on 26 and 27 April 2023, which involved officers from the Criminal Investigation Department, Police Intelligence Department and Special Operations Command. In a follow-up to the operation, the woman was arrested on 19 September 2023.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the five persons had allegedly worked as runners for an unlicensed moneylending syndicate, which employed various methods to launder criminal proceeds derived from its illegal moneylending operation. They were believed to have played various roles to facilitate these operations, including carrying out Automated Teller Machine (ATM) transfers, collecting cash and ATM cards from other runners, handing over cash to other runners in Singapore and Johor Bahru, and performing cash “dead drops” at various locations in Singapore.
As part of investigations, the Police seized cash amounting to $14,000 and froze $9,300 in bank accounts suspected to be linked to the unlicensed moneylending activities.
The five persons will be charged under the Moneylenders Act 2008. For first-time offenders, the offence of assisting with unlicensed moneylending business carries an imprisonment term of up to four years, a fine between $30,000 and $300,000, and caning of up to six strokes. For second and subsequent offenders, the offence of assisting with unlicensed moneylending business carries an imprisonment term of up to seven years, a fine between $30,000 and $300,000, and caning of up to 12 strokes.
The Police have zero tolerance for unlicensed moneylending activities. This includes assisting unlicensed moneylenders through collecting or transferring money, whether through electronic means or in cash. Anyone found to be involved in unlicensed moneylending activities will be dealt with severely in accordance with the law.
Members of the public are advised to stay away from unlicensed moneylenders and not to work with or assist them in any way. The public can call ‘999’ if they suspect or know of anyone involved in loansharking activities.
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
10 July 2025 @ 9:20 PM