A 47-year-old woman, an undischarged bankrupt, has been charged in court on 4 June 2020 for misappropriating over $1 million intended for foreign exchange investments as well as other offences.
Between 2015 and 2017, the woman allegedly offered leveraged foreign exchange trading services without the requisite licence issued by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (“MAS”). She allegedly collected and misappropriated a total of over $1 million from six investors meant to be traded in leveraged foreign exchange on their behalf.
The woman faces the following charges:
a. Two counts of criminal breach of trust under Section 406 of the Penal Code, Chapter 224. The offence carries an imprisonment term of up to 7 years, a fine, or both;
b. Two counts of carrying on a business in a regulated activity without a capital markets services licence granted by MAS under Section 82(1) of the Securities and Futures Act, Chapter 289. The offence carries a fine of up to $150,000, an imprisonment term of up to 3 years, or both;
c. Two counts of unauthorised travel without permission of the Official Assignee under Section 131(1)(b) of the Bankruptcy Act, Chapter 20. The offence carries a fine of up to $10,000, an imprisonment term of up to 2 years, or both; and
d. One count of obtaining credit without informing her creditor that she is an undischarged bankrupt under Section 141(1)(a) of the Bankruptcy Act, Chapter 20. The offence carries a fine of up to $10,000, an imprisonment term of up to 3 years, or both.
Members of the public are advised not to deal with unregulated entities or persons when they come across such investment opportunities. If you choose to deal with unregulated entities or persons, you will forgo the protection available under MAS’ regulations.
Before committing to an investment, always Ask, Check and Confirm.
· ASK
ASK as many questions as you need to fully understand the investment opportunity. If the company/person is unable to, or avoids answering any of your questions, be wary!
· CHECK
CHECK on the company, its owners, directors and management members to assess if the opportunity is genuine.
· CONFIRM
CONFIRM the company’s and representatives’ credentials by using available resources, including the Financial Institutions Directory, Register of Representatives, Investor Alert List on the MAS’ website (www.mas.gov.sg) and Insolvency Search on the Ministry of Law Insolvency Office’s website (https://eservices.mlaw.gov.sg/io/).
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
04 June 2020 @ 5:00 PM