A Singapore court on Friday sentenced two Indian nationals to imprisonment for withdrawing funds from migrant workers' bank accounts and sending remittances to India without proper licenses, according to a report by The Straits Times.
Sentences Handed Down
Cousins Angappan Arivalagan, 33, and Durairaj Kulothungan, 27, were convicted under Singapore's relevant acts for carrying out cross-border money transfer services without licenses. Arivalagan received 15 months and three weeks' jail along with a fine of SGD 6,000, while Kulothungan was sentenced to eight months and three weeks' imprisonment.
Modus Operandi
The illicit transactions involved Arivalagan collecting cash from migrant workers, buying items with the money, and shipping those goods overseas for resale at a profit. During the COVID-19 period, Arivalagan convinced fellow workers in his dormitory that he could withdraw their money and arrange transfers to India. Kulothungan joined in March 2023, making daily withdrawals using the workers' ATM cards.
Arrest and Seizure
In July 2023, a bystander alerted police after seeing Kulothungan withdrawing large sums from an ATM at Plaza Singapura. Officers arrested him on the spot, seizing 51 ATM cards and nearly SGD 75,000 in cash. Arivalagan was arrested the following month.
Scale of Illegal Remittances
Deputy public prosecutors Daphne Lim and Teng Yin Hang stated that from January to March 12, 2023, a total of SGD 4,099,305 was illegally remitted from 28 bank accounts. From March 13 to July 2023, an additional SGD 6,166,515 was illegally remitted from 33 accounts, bringing the total to over SGD 10 million.
