- A 37-year-old man received a 19-month jail sentence for helping convert criminal funds into cryptocurrency in Singapore.
- The scheme involved purchasing Gold with bank cards provided by a third party and exchanging it for USDT cryptocurrency.
- Singapore authorities are taking a firm stance against money laundering activities that threaten the nation’s financial center status.
A 37-year-old man named Huang Wei-Ru was sentenced to 19 months in prison on Tuesday (Apr 8) in Singapore for his involvement in a cryptocurrency money laundering scheme. Huang pleaded guilty to two counts of assisting another to retain benefits from criminal conduct and one count of unauthorized access to computer material, with three additional charges taken into consideration.
Huang participated in a scheme to convert money into cryptocurrency at the request of his friend Yen Hsiao-Chuan, 42, whose case remains ongoing. The arrangement began in March 2024 when Yen, while on a business trip in China, met someone known as “Jiao Shui” who offered him a 5% commission to help convert money to cryptocurrency.
The court heard that under the arrangement, bank cards would be provided to purchase gold in Singapore, which would then be exchanged for United States Dollar Tether (USDT) cryptocurrency. Huang agreed to help Yen with this scheme in May 2024, partly because Yen owed him money which could be repaid through the commission earned.
The Gold Exchange Operation
According to court documents, Huang made multiple trips to Singapore between May and July 2024. During his first visit on May 4, he used a bank card provided by Jiao Shui to purchase S$50,000 worth of gold at a Maxi Cash outlet in Bedok. The gold was then exchanged with an individual known as “Jin” for USDT cryptocurrency.
On his second trip, Huang purchased approximately S$250,000 worth of gold, but was cheated by a middleman named “Sheng Jie” who failed to transfer the promised 157,667 USDT and became uncontactable. This led Huang to file a police report in Singapore before leaving on May 16.
Neither Huang nor Yen took steps to verify the identities or locations of the bank cards’ rightful owners. Huang never met Jiao Shui in person, and their Telegram conversations were automatically deleted after one day.
Singapore’s Stance on Money Laundering
Deputy Public Prosecutor Darren Ang emphasized the need to deter money laundering offenses given Singapore’s position as a major international financial center in the Asia-Pacific region.
“Money laundering is an indivisible part of international criminal activity and is detrimental to society. The unimpeded circulation of proceeds from crime will have a prejudicial effect on the fabric of society and the economy,” he stated in his written submission.
The prosecution sought a 30 to 36-month prison term, while defense lawyer Chooi Jing Yen requested a sentence of no more than 10 months. For assisting another to retain benefits from criminal conduct, Huang could have faced a fine of up to S$50,000 and/or imprisonment of up to three years.
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