9 nabbed for unlicensed moneylending activities

A husband and wife duo are among nine suspects who have been arrested by the police for their involvement in unlicensed moneylending activities tied to a loanshark syndicate here.

Get the full story from The Straits Times.

Here is the full statement from the Singapore Police Force:

In a five-hour island-wide operation that commenced on November 7 2013 at about 4 pm, Police arrested nine suspects (six men and three women) aged between 18 and 61 years old for assisting in unlicensed moneylending (UML) activities.

Officers from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) conducted simultaneous raids at various parts of Singapore including Petir Road, Clementi Road, Toa Payoh, Serangoon, Lorong Liew Lian, Guillemard Road, Ho Ching Road and Paya Lebar Road, resulting in the arrests. An assortment of loansharking-related paraphernalia was also seized as case exhibits. Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects were believed to have assisted a loanshark syndicate linked to more than 70 loanshark harassment cases islandwide.

Among the suspects arrested were a 36-year-old man and his 29-year-old wife. The duo had worked as ATM runners for the UML syndicate by performing fund transfers using several ATM cards, as well as using their home computer to print flyers which advertised loan facilities. Four of the suspects had allowed their bank accounts to be used by the UML syndicate to issue loans and collect repayments while the remaining three suspects were involved as ATM runners and flyers distributors.

Two of the nine suspects will be charged in Court on November 11, 2013 for assisting in carrying on an unlicensed moneylending business. Investigations against the remaining suspects are still ongoing. Under the Moneylenders Act, persons found guilty of assisting in carrying on unlicensed moneylending business shall be punished with imprisonment for a term not exceeding four years and a fine of not less than $30,000 and not more than $300,000.

Head of the Unlicensed Moneylending Strikeforce of CID, Superintendent of Police Aileen Yap commended the officers for their resourcefulness and diligence leading to the arrest of the suspects. She said, "Police takes a serious view of those who assist the loansharks in any form. We are determined to weed out those involved in such unscrupulous activities which pose serious threats to our society".