Singapore Police Disrupt Unlicensed Moneylending Network, Freeze Bank Accounts and Seize Crypto
The Singapore Police Force has arrested eight men and three women, aged between 18 and 77, over their suspected involvement in an unlicensed moneylending syndicate following an islandwide enforcement operation on 12 August 2026.
More than 100 officers from the Criminal Investigation Department, Police Intelligence Department and Special Operations Command carried out simultaneous raids at multiple locations. Six men are being charged for assisting in the business of unlicensed moneylending, while investigations into other suspected participants remain ongoing.
Police said the network relied on a range of supporting roles, including people sending bulk SMS advertisements for “fast cash” and “easy loans”, runners, individuals topping up mobile numbers used for messaging, and bank account holders facilitating unlicensed moneylending transactions. Errant mobile-phone retailers are also under investigation over the suspected fraudulent registration of postpaid SIM cards later used by the syndicate.
The syndicate is believed to be linked to at least 25,500 ScamShield reports and 1,509 police reports. Police seized more than S$410,000 in cash, 22 mobile phones, 24 bank cards and other devices. Twenty-nine bank accounts with a combined balance exceeding S$106,000 were frozen, while cryptocurrencies worth more than US$25,000 were also seized.
The operation illustrates how illicit lending networks can depend on bank accounts, telecommunications infrastructure and digital assets as operational enablers. For financial-crime teams, the case reinforces the value of detecting accounts used as transaction conduits and identifying links between payment activity, SIM registration and wider criminal networks.
