3 Chinese workers sue Singapore remittance firm for US$48,000 after mainland police freeze money

Samlit Moneychanger said it cannot be responsible for what happens after cash reaches designated accounts in China

Mainland police have blocked hundreds of remittances from Singapore as Beijing boosts efforts to root out alleged money laundering

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Police in China have blocked hundreds of remittances from Singapore as part of their crackdown on alleged money laundering. Photo: AFP

Published: 12:49pm, 26 Jan 2024

Three Chinese nationals working in Singapore sued a remittance firm after police in the mainland froze money they had transferred home, as China ramps up efforts to root out alleged money laundering and other illicit activities.

The trio are seeking 347,501 yuan (US$48,417) from Samlit Moneychanger Pte, as part of other claims, alleging breach of agreements, according to a suit filed to the city state’s courts in October and obtained by Bloomberg News.

Samlit denied the allegations. It said it fulfilled its obligations and cannot be responsible for what happens after money reaches designated accounts in China, according to court documents.

The seizures comes as China cracks down on what it considers massive crime rings that have extended beyond its shores as more of its citizens leave home. Across Asia, nations from Singapore to Myanmar are grappling with scams and money-laundering cases that have spilled out from the world’s second-largest economy.

Singapore in particular is seeing its biggest money laundering case play out with more than S$3 billion ($2.2 billion) of assets confiscated from ethnic Chinese in the city state so far.

Police in China have blocked hundreds of remittances from Singapore, many of them sent by Samlit, a licensed money changer based in the city’s Chinatown area, according to complaints made to authorities in Singapore.