The Police have charged a 47-year-old woman, Li Fengli, on 5 April 2023, for allegedly carrying on a business of providing unlicensed cross-border money transfer services and for fraudulently using as genuine forged electronic records.
Between April and December 2022, Li, who appeared to have used the name “Meizi” and the WeChat ID: mei1966456693, had allegedly accepted a total sum of more than $214,000 from four remitters in Singapore, for the purpose of cross-border money transfers to bank accounts of persons in China, when Li did not have a licence issued by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) allowing her to do so. It is alleged that these transactions arose from postings shared in a WeChat Community Group advertising remittance services with attractive exchange rates. The offence of providing unlicensed cross-border money transfer services under Section 5(1) is punishable under Section 5(3)(a) of the Payment Services Act 2019. The offence carries a fine of up to $125,000, imprisonment of up to three years, or both.
Li is also alleged to have knowingly provided two of the remitters with forged electronic images of receipts purportedly issued by Zhongguo Remittance Private Limited. The offence of using as genuine a forged electronic records under Section 471 is punishable under Section 465 of the Penal Code 1871. The offence carries an imprisonment term of up to four years, a fine, or both.
The Police strongly advise members of the public, who wish to remit funds out of Singapore, to be aware of the strict Foreign Exchange Controls in foreign countries, and to do so through licensed banks or payment service providers. This is to avoid the risk of funds being lost, misappropriated or being used for money laundering or terrorist financing, as unlicensed payment service operators are neither regulated nor subjected to strict anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing measures.
The Police will also not hesitate to take action against any individual or entity involved in providing any unlicensed cross-border money transfer services.
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
11 April 2023 @ 11:15 AM