A Singapore remittance company is hitting back against the city-state’s financial regulator, disputing its recounting of events amid a fund-freeze scandal and denying allegations of suspected fraudulent trading, according to Bloomberg.
Samlit Moneychanger Pte categorically rejects that it carried on any business for any fraudulent purpose and “any claims to such effect are entirely false and or misconceived,” the firm said in an emailed statement to Bloomberg News, re-iterating an earlier denial after the Monetary Authority of Singapore and police last week jointly said they were investigating the firm and two of its managers.
Samlit and its director have no unusual transfer activity in any bank account and all transactions are in accordance with legislations of Singapore, it said, adding that cases where customers have complained about their money being frozen in China “are totally extraneous developments and totally beyond the remittance companies’ control.”
The company is among several remittance firms that drew hundreds of customer complaints after fund transfers to China were frozen by local authorities. China last month vowed to step up cooperation with Singapore to crack down on cross-border money laundering crimes, highlighting its concerns about illicit flows in the region.
Samlit told the regulator on February 20 that it planned to surrender its payments services license and discontinue its business. The company said an MAS probe on its premises will complete on February 27 and its last day of operations as an MAS license holder is February 29.
