Authorities in the city-state have charged a 23-year-old woman under the Payment Services Act, for carrying on a business of providing payment services without a licence.
The woman had allegedly provided a digital payment token service between February 27 and 28 this year, by receiving at least 13 fraudulent fund transfers amounting to S$3,350 ($2,406) in her bank account, which was then used to purchase bitcoin, the Singapore Police Force said in a statement on Wednesday.
The funds deposited in her bank account turned out to be proceeds of crime from victims of online scams, the statement said. According to the police, the woman does not have a licence to provide payment services in Singapore and is not an exempt payment service provider under the Payment Services Act.
Local newspaper «The Straits Times» identified the woman as Vivian Lange, who had earlier been charged with 10 counts of acting on behalf of a loan shark known only «Boss.»
Anti-Money Laundering
The Payment Services Act, introduced in January 2020, aims to provide for regulatory certainty and consumer safeguards, while encouraging innovation and growth of payment services and fintech.
Besides bringing crypto firms into the regulatory fold, the law gives the Monetary Authority of Singapore formal supervisory powers for cybersecurity risks and controls on money laundering and terrorism financing
Lange faces a fine of up to $125,000 or imprisonment for a term of up to three years, or both.
