[ad_1]
SINGAPORE: About 300 people were arrested in a recent two-week loan-taking operation, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said on Tuesday (September 8).
Police arrested 207 men and 66 women, between the ages of 16 and 70, suspected of being involved in loan-snatching activities, SPF said in a press release.
During the operation that lasted from August 24 to September 6, officers from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the seven police ground divisions simultaneously raided several locations across the island, resulting in arrests.
READ: Over 300 people under investigation for scams, money laundering, unlicensed money lending activities
“Preliminary investigations revealed that 67 suspects are believed to be brokers who had assisted loan sharks in their businesses by conducting ATM transfers and collecting debts in person.
“Seven suspects are believed to be stalkers who carried out acts of harassment by splattering paint and scribbling loan shark-related graffiti on the walls,” said SPF.
“The remaining 199 suspects are believed to have opened bank accounts and gave away their ATM cards and personal identification numbers (PINs) to loan sharks to facilitate their unlicensed loan business,” he added.
Investigations against all suspects are ongoing.
LEE: Man arrested for harassment of moneylenders after setting fire to Seletar’s house
READ: Usurers use food delivery services to harass debtors, police warn
The first-time offense of carrying out or helping to lend money without a license is punishable by a fine of between S $ 30,000 and S $ 300,000, imprisonment of up to four years and beating of up to six strokes.
Under the Lenders Act (Revised Edition 2010), any account holder is presumed to have assisted in lending money without a license when their bank account or ATM card is used to facilitate such a transaction.
First-time offenders found guilty of acting on behalf of an unlicensed lender, committing or attempting any act of harassment can be imprisoned for up to five years, fined S $ 5,000 to S $ 50,000, and punished with three to six strokes. .
“The police will continue to crack down on those involved in the loan-taking business, regardless of their role, and they will face the full weight of the law.
“This would include taking action against those who open or give away their bank accounts to help unlicensed lenders,” said SPF.
