The Police have arrested 316 persons, aged between 13 and 71, for their suspected involvement in loansharking activities.
During the three-week anti-loansharking operation conducted between 18 January and 7 February 2021, officers from the Criminal Investigation Department and the seven Police land divisions conducted simultaneous raids island-wide. Preliminary investigations revealed that 33 of the suspects had allegedly conducted harassment at debtors’ residences and 68 suspects are believed to be runners who had assisted the loansharks in their businesses by carrying out Automated Teller Machine (ATM) transfers. $52,000 and unlicensed moneylending paraphernalia i.e. mobile phones, prepaid SIM cards were also seized during the operation.
The remaining 215 suspects have purportedly opened bank accounts and provided their ATM cards, Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) and/or Internet Banking tokens to loansharks to facilitate their unlicensed moneylending businesses. Investigations against all the suspects are ongoing.
Under the Moneylenders Act (Revised Edition 2010), when a bank account, ATM card or Internet Banking token of any person is used to facilitate moneylending by an unlicensed moneylender, that person is presumed to have assisted in carrying on the business of unlicensed moneylending.
- First-time offenders found guilty of carrying on or assisting in a business of unlicensed moneylending shall be punished with a fine between $30,000 and $300,000, be imprisoned for a term of up to four years and shall also be liable to be punished with caning of up to six strokes.
- First-time offenders found guilty of acting on behalf of an unlicensed moneylender, committing or attempting to commit any acts of harassment shall be punished with a fine of between $5,000 and $50,000, be imprisoned for a term of up to five years, and shall also be liable to be punished with caning between three and six strokes.
The Police will continue to take tough enforcement action against those involved in the loansharking business, regardless of their roles, and ensure that they face the full brunt of the law. This would include taking action against those who open or give away their bank accounts to aid unlicensed moneylenders.
Loansharks are increasingly sending unsolicited loan advertisements via text messages or online platforms. Members of the public are reminded not to reply or respond to such advertisements and report the WhatsApp messages as spam. Members of public are advised to stay away from loansharks and not to work with or assist the loansharks in any way. The public can call the Police at ‘999’ or the X-Ah Long hotline at 1800-924-5664 if they suspect or know of anyone who could be involved in illegal loansharking activities.
Photos of Cash, Pre-paid SIM cards, ATM cards and Mobile phone seized
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
09 February 2021 @ 8:05 PM