Samlit moneychanger and two directors charged after refusing to help investigators, abandoning licence mid-inspection

SINGAPORE: A Singapore moneychanger, its director, and its compliance manager faced a combined 58 charges in court on July 9, 2026, following a joint investigation by the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) that began in February 2024.

Samlit Moneychanger Pte Ltd faces 19 counts of failing to comply with a MAS direction on complaint handling. Its 45-year-old director and 36-year-old compliance manager face 17 counts each under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2022 for the same failures. The compliance manager faces an additional 22 charges: two for obstructing justice and 20 for refusing to provide passwords and access to seized devices and email accounts despite repeated lawful orders from the SPF.

What triggered the investigation

The investigation was sparked by two red flags: first, beneficiaries in China reported being unable to access money remitted through Samlit, with funds having been frozen or confiscated by Chinese authorities; second, Samlit abruptly surrendered its payment services licence with the intention of closing down its business while a MAS inspection was actively ongoing.

The combination of customer funds in limbo and a sudden mid-inspection licence surrender prompted MAS and the SPF to launch a joint investigation on February 23, 2024.

Compliance manager refused to hand over passwords

One of the most striking, and likely the most damning, aspects of the case is the compliance manager’s persistent refusal to cooperate with investigators. Between February 24, 2024 and August 30, 2024, SPF issued the compliance manager with 20 separate orders under the Criminal Procedure Code requiring him to provide passwords and authentication access to seized devices and email accounts. He complied with none of them.

He also separately interfered with SPF’s access to two email accounts used by Samlit. This conduct may result in two charges of obstruction of justice under the Penal Code, carrying a potential sentence of up to seven years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both.

Each refusal to comply with an SPF order to provide computer access carries a penalty of up to six months’ imprisonment, a fine of up to S$5,000, or both. This means that the compliance manager faces up to 20 such penalties stacked alongside the obstruction charges that he was already facing.

Complaints handling failures

MAS had issued a direction to Samlit on February 22, 2024, to continue assisting and addressing complaints from affected remitters, specifically by providing relevant remittance information that would help them appeal to Chinese law enforcement agencies regarding the frozen funds.

Samlit, its director, and its compliance manager all failed to do so, and were therefore charged with failing to comply with this direction. Each failure to comply with a MAS direction carries a fine of up to S$1 million upon conviction.

MAS also reportedly took steps in 2024 to secure funds held in Samlit’s corporate bank accounts, given the circumstances surrounding the sudden licence surrender. Its direction to Samlit remains in force until, among other conditions, an external auditor confirms that sufficient provisions have been made for all liabilities, including potential legal ones.

Investigators also looked into potential fraudulent trading offences. However, the SPF said that evidence gathered to date does not meet the threshold for criminal charges under the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act. No further action will be taken on this front at this stage, though the SPF noted this does not preclude further investigation if new material information or evidence comes to light.

For the affected remitters whose beneficiaries in China found their funds frozen, the case has been an ordeal stretching back more than two years. The charges show that Singapore’s regulators and law enforcement take a serious view not just of the original compliance failures, but of any attempt to obstruct or frustrate the investigations that follow.

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