- Illustrative photo.
SINGAPORE: Five foreigners appeared in a district court on Thursday (Sept 5) after they allegedly provided unlawful cross-border money transfer services involving more than S$1.4 million in total in separate cases.
They are: Chinese national Zhu Erling, 36, Myanmar national Lal Rem Ruati, 40, and Sri Lankan Mohamed Mifras Zahir, 47. Hasan Nahid, 34 and Mukul, 39, who goes by one name, are Bangladeshis.
All five were charged with offences under the Payment Services Act.
Such unlawful payment services are not subjected to stringent anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing measures, said the police.
Lal Rem Ruati’s charge involved the largest amount – about $1.25 million – and she is accused of committing the offence in a unit at Peninsula Plaza shopping centre in North Bridge Road from January to November 2021.
In a statement on Sept 4, police said that she allegedly provided the service to maids from her country.
Zhu, a Singapore permanent resident, allegedly provided such a service from May to December 2020, and it is said to involve $100,800.
The police said she is believed to have provided the service through an undisclosed Chinese social media site and her family in China would then assist to transfer the money to beneficiaries.
Hasan is accused of committing a similar offence involving nearly $66,000 at the Sungei Tengah Lodge migrant workers’ dormitory between October 2020 and October 2022.
Police said that he would collect cash from the migrant workers and remit the money to his family in Bangladesh to facilitate the transfer of Bangladeshi taka equivalent to the beneficiaries.
Mifras is accused of providing a similar service on or before May 12, 2024, and his case is said to involve more than $34,000.
Police said that he allegedly collected the monies from maids before remitting the equivalent amounts in Sri Lankan rupees to their beneficiaries in his home country.
He was caught following a raid in Dalhousie Lane, near Sungei Road, in May 2024.
Mukul allegedly provided such a service between August 2021 and September 2023, but court documents did not disclose the total amount involved in his case.
Lal Rem Ruati and Hasan are expected to plead guilty on Sept 19, while Mifras’ case will be mentioned again in court on Sept 26.
The cases involving Zhu and Mukul have been adjourned to Oct 3.
First time offenders convicted of providing unlawful cross-border money transfer services can be jailed for up to three years and fined up to $125,000. - The Straits Times/ANN
