The Police are investigating 189 persons, aged between 12 and 78 years old, for their suspected involvement in unlicensed moneylending activities.

During a two-week anti-unlicensed moneylending operation conducted between 22 November and 3 December 2021, officers from the Criminal Investigation Department and the seven Police land divisions conducted simultaneous raids island-wide.

Preliminary investigations revealed that 16 suspects had allegedly conducted harassment at debtors’ residences. Another 37 suspects are believed to be runners who had assisted in unlicensed moneylending businesses by carrying out Automated Teller Machine (ATM) transfers. One suspect is also believed to have provided false contact information to an unlicensed moneylender, leading to harassment conducted at a victim’s residence.

The remaining 135 suspects are believed to have opened bank accounts and provided their ATM cards, Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) and/or Internet Banking tokens to unlicensed moneylenders to facilitate their unlicensed moneylending.

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 an imprisonment term of up to four years, a fine of between $30,000 and $300,000, and caning of up to six strokes.

First-time offenders found guilty of committing or attempting to commit any acts of harassment on behalf of an unlicensed moneylender 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.

Offenders found guilty of providing false contact information to obtain loans from unlicensed moneylenders shall be punished with an imprisonment term of up to 12 months.

The Police will continue to take tough enforcement action against those involved in the unlicensed moneylending businesses, regardless of their roles, and ensure that they face the full brunt of the law. This includes taking action against those who open or give away their bank accounts to aid unlicensed moneylenders.

Unlicensed moneylenders are increasingly using text messaging or online platforms to send unsolicited loan advertisements. Members of the public are reminded not to reply or respond to such advertisements and to report these messages as spam. Members of the public are also advised to stay away from unlicensed moneylenders and not to work with or assist them in any way. The public can also 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 unlicensed moneylending activities.

Source: Singapore Police Force