SINGAPORE: Two Indian nationals will be charged in court on April 24 with providing illegal cross-border money transfer services involving more than S$38.6 million.
The men, aged 45 and 33, are also being charged with carrying out unlicensed remittance activities without a valid work pass, the police said in a statement on Thursday (April 23).
The older man will also be charged with conspiring with a company director to make false declarations in his work pass application.
On April 8, the police conducted a raid in Norris Road after receiving a tip-off and discovered that the older man had carried out unlicensed cross-border money transfer services.
During the raid, the police seized more than $314,000 in cash, 30 ATM cards, one hard disk, two mobile phones and multiple remittance transaction record books.
Investigations revealed that the older man allegedly ran two similar unlicensed remittance operations – one involving an unknown person and another involving his own acquaintance in India – between March 2024 and April 2025. The total cross-border remittances under these operations amounted to more than $38.6 million.
The 33-year-old man was also allegedly part of the same operation, operating as both a courier and an independent agent in the network.
He allegedly facilitated unlicensed cross-border money transfer services using two methods: processing direct bank transfers through his personal bank account and managing multiple ATM cards from cardholders. He was found with 22 ATM cards that belonged to various Indian nationals.
Besides collecting funds and delivering them to the older man for remittance to India, he also allegedly facilitated domestic loan repayments for various people.
The total cross-border remittances that he facilitated totalled about $301,000, while the domestic remittances amounted to more than $70,000.
Both men did not have a valid work pass to be self-employed foreigners and “engaged in unlicensed remittance activities for the purpose of gain”, said the police.
The Ministry of Manpower’s investigations into the older man’s work pass application revealed that he had allegedly obtained a work pass from a 39-year-old male Indian national, who was a company director, to validate his stay in Singapore.
After the work pass was issued, the 45-year-old man carried out unlicensed remittance in exchange for money, instead of working for the company.
Both men involved in the work pass application scheme will be charged.
The public is advised to use financial institutions or payment service providers licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore when conducting cross-border money transfers.
Avoid engaging in unlicensed payment service activities, as their providers are neither regulated nor subjected to stringent anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing measures, the police said. - The Straits Times/ANN
