freezing of the remitted funds in china, money laundering 2023.12.29 ☑gov ☑singapore,新加坡the monetary authority of singapore (mas) and the singapore police force (spf) share mr gong’s concern about the increasing incidence of funds being frozen in beneficiaries’ bank accounts in china, after being remitted through licensed remittance companies in singapore.however, it is not clear that the freezing of the remitted funds in china was motivated by concerns of money laundering by these remittance companies, as mr gong seems to suggest.in fact, mas and spf have not received information showing that the remittance companies were involved in money laundering or scams, or that the funds were frozen because the remittance companies had processed the proceeds of money laundering or scams in singapore. should there be information to suggest otherwise, mas and spf will take appropriate regulatory or enforcement action.➤新加坡汇款到中国账户被冻结的风波燃烧多月，有受害者更怀疑汇款公司涉及洗钱欺诈，导致他们的汇款被中国冻结，不过金管局和警方发表联合文告强调，未收到消息指汇款公司涉及洗钱或欺诈。当局也说，已联络中国政府为受害者提供帮助。金管局和警方今天（29日）发布联合文告表示，对日益增加的账户冻结事件表示关注。但目前，无法确定账户的冻结与汇款公司涉嫌洗钱案活动有所关联。➤近期，有不少在新加坡工作的外国人反映，他们通过汇款公司将钱汇回中国的银行账户后，却发现账户被中国当局冻结，原因是涉及犯罪行为，如网络赌博、电信诈骗等。这一事件引起了广泛的关注和担忧，许多受害者也到汇款公司讨要说法。针对这一情况，新加坡金管局和警方于12月29日发布了联合文告，澄清相关的事实和措施，为公众提供指引和帮助。➤附：新加坡金管局与警方联合回应《加强汇兑业务监管》函 – 博爪-九游会j9备用网址

monetary authority of singapore, published date: 29 december 2023

we thank mr gong yu cheng (“加强汇兑业务监管”) for his letter of 16 dec.

2. the monetary authority of singapore (mas) and the singapore police force (spf) share mr gong’s concern about the increasing incidence of funds being frozen in beneficiaries’ bank accounts in china, after being remitted through licensed remittance companies in singapore.

3. however, it is not clear that the freezing of the remitted funds in china was motivated by concerns of money laundering by these remittance companies, as mr gong seems to suggest.

4. in fact, mas and spf have not received information showing that the remittance companies were involved in money laundering or scams, or that the funds were frozen because the remittance companies had processed the proceeds of money laundering or scams in singapore. should there be information to suggest otherwise, mas and spf will take appropriate regulatory or enforcement action.

5. companies providing remittance services are licensed by mas and required to meet the same standards of anti-money laundering controls as other regulated financial institutions.

6. in the provision of their services, remittance companies may pass the funds to intermediary institutions, based in singapore or overseas, for the onward transmission of the funds to the beneficiaries. these intermediaries include banks, operators of card payment systems, or third-party agents. the remittance companies are required to conduct due diligence on the intermediary institutions with which they work.

7. the currently reported cases of frozen funds in beneficiary accounts in china concern remittances that had been processed through overseas third-party agents. this is a common and accepted mode of remittance offered by remittance companies to keep transaction costs low for customers, and has been around for decades.

8. mas’ direction to licensed remittance companies in singapore to suspend the use of non-bank and non-card channels when transmitting money to persons in china from 1 january to 31 march 2024 is aimed at minimising risks to remitters and not related to any specific money laundering concern.

9. in the meantime, the singapore government has been asking the prc government to help affected remitters understand how they can get their accounts and monies in china unfrozen by the prc law enforcement agencies. mas and spf had also organised an outreach session on 18 december 2023 for affected remitters. the prc embassy in singapore and the three remittance companies whose customers had been affected by the remittance problem also attended this outreach session.

10. mas and spf continue to monitor the situation closely.

lu xinyi
director (corporate communications)
monetary authority of singapore

assistant commissioner of police (ac) ho yenn dar
director (covering)
public affairs department
singapore police force