SINGAPORE: Samlit Moneychanger will be charged on Thursday (Jul 9) for failing to comply with a Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) direction requiring it to continue handling complaints from customers whose remittances were frozen in China.
Its director, a 45-year-old woman, and compliance manager, a 36-year-old man, will also be charged in connection with the non-compliance, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and MAS said in a joint news release.
The SPF and MAS began joint investigations into Samlit’s director and compliance manager on Feb 23, 2024.
“The investigations followed reports that beneficiaries in China were unable to access monies that were remitted through Samlit because they had been frozen or confiscated by authorities in China, as well as Samlit’s abrupt surrender of its payment services licence with the intention of discontinuing its business during an ongoing inspection by MAS,” they said.
During investigations, the compliance manager interfered with SPF’s access to two email accounts used by Samlit, obstructing investigations.
He also did not comply with 20 orders from SPF requiring him to provide passwords and authentication access to seized devices and email accounts.
As of mid-December 2023, about 430 police reports were made against Samlit in relation to the frozen remittances.
In view of the number of reports made, MAS issued a direction on Feb 22, 2024, requiring Samlit to continue assisting and addressing complaints by affected remitters.
“This included providing the affected remitters with relevant remittance information to facilitate their appeals to law enforcement agencies in China regarding the freezing of monies in their beneficiaries’ accounts,” said SPF and MAS.
However, the moneychanger failed to comply.
Samlit’s director and compliance manager will be charged with 17 counts under Section 61(3) read with Section 174(2) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2022.
The compliance manager will also be charged with obstruction of justice and failing to comply with orders to assist the police.
Each offence of failing to comply with a MAS direction carries a maximum fine of S$1 million (US$770,000).
Those found guilty of obstructing justice may face up to seven years’ jail, a fine, or both, while those convicted of failing to comply with an order to assist the police may face up to six months’ jail, a fine of up to S$5,000, or both.
As part of the investigations, the police also looked into possible fraudulent trading, said SPF and MAS.
“The investigation findings till date did not reveal sufficient evidence for criminal charges,” they said.
“The police, in consultation with the Attorney-General’s Chambers, will be taking no further action at this point. This does not preclude further investigation if police receive new material information or evidence.”