Interpretation of this Part
21. In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires —“account” means any deposit or current account opened with a bank;
“deal with” means —(a)
in respect of property comprising funds —(i)
use, alter, move, allow access to or transfer; or
(ii)
deal with in any other way that would result in any change in volume, amount, location, ownership, possession, character or destination; and
(b)
in respect of any other property, use to obtain funds in any way, including (but not limited to) by selling, hiring or mortgaging the property;
“funds” includes cheques, bank deposits and other financial resources;
“property” means property of every kind, whether tangible or intangible, movable or immovable, and whether situated within or outside Singapore, and includes funds.[15A
Proceeds of unlicensed moneylending
22.—(1) In this Part, property is proceeds of unlicensed moneylending if it is wholly or partly derived or realised, whether directly or indirectly, from a contravention of section 5(1).
(2) Property becomes proceeds of unlicensed moneylending if —(a)
it is wholly or partly derived or realised from a dealing with or disposal of proceeds of unlicensed moneylending; or
(b)
it is wholly or partly acquired using proceeds of unlicensed moneylending,
including by virtue of a previous application of this subsection.
(3) Property remains proceeds of unlicensed moneylending even if —(a)
it is credited to an account; or
(b)
it is dealt with or disposed of.[15B
Order specifying proceeds of unlicensed moneylending
23.—(1) Where —(a)
the Minister is satisfied that a person has been associated with activities which contravene section 5(1) and the person is detained under an order made under section 30(1)(a) of the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act 1955 in connection with those activities; and
(b)
the Minister has reasonable cause to believe that any property owned or held by any person is proceeds of unlicensed moneylending by reason of the activities mentioned in paragraph (a),
the Minister may by order specify —
(c)
such property to be proceeds of unlicensed moneylending (called in this Part specified property); or
(d)
any account which has been credited with such property as an account with proceeds of unlicensed moneylending (called in this Part a specified account).[12/2018]
(2) The Minister may vary or revoke the order at any time.
(3) The Minister must revoke the order if the person mentioned in subsection (1)(a) is no longer detained and is not subject to the supervision of the police under an order made under section 32 of the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act 1955.[15C
Orders: further provisions
24.—(1) Where the Minister makes an order under section 23, he or she must —(a)
either publish the order in the Gazette or serve a copy of the order on certain persons only; and
(b)
if he or she varies or revokes the order, take steps to publish the variation or revocation in the Gazette or bring the variation or revocation to the attention of the persons served with a copy of the order, as the case may be.
(2) Where the Minister serves a copy of the order on certain persons under subsection (1), only those persons are subject to the prohibition in section 25(1).
(3) The General Division of the High Court may, on the application of a person affected by the order, set aside the order in whole or in part.[40/2019]
(4) An application under subsection (3) must be made within 30 days from the date of publication or service of the order, as the case may be.
(5) The order may be set aside in whole or in part by the General Division of the High Court if, and only if, the applicant proves to the satisfaction of the General Division of the High Court that any specified property is not, or any specified account has not been credited with, proceeds of unlicensed moneylending.[40/2019]
(6) The correctness, validity or legality of the order made under section 30(1) or 32 (as the case may be) of the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act 1955, or of any ground upon which such order is made, is not to be raised as an issue or called into question in the course of an application under subsection (3) or during any proceedings relating to such application.[12/2018]
(7) A person who makes an application under subsection (3) must serve a copy of the application on the Attorney‑General not later than 7 days before the date fixed for the hearing of the application.
(8) Rules of Court may provide for the manner in which proceedings relating to an application under subsection (3) may be commenced or carried on.[15D
Freezing proceeds of unlicensed moneylending
25.—(1) A person must not deal with any specified property, or any funds in any specified account, unless the person does so under the authority of a licence granted under section 28.
(2) A person who, without reasonable excuse, contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction —(a)
in the case where the person is a body corporate, to a fine not exceeding $200,000; or
(b)
in any other case, to a fine not exceeding $100,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both.
(3) This section is subject to section 24(2).[15E
Exception
26.—(1) A person is not guilty of an offence under section 25 if the person credits a specified account with interest or other earnings due on the account.
(2) To avoid doubt, section 25 applies to any funds credited to the specified account in accordance with subsection (1).[15F
Circumvention of section 25
27. Where a person —(a)
enters into; or
(b)
knowingly does any act in furtherance of,
any arrangement which facilitates, or is likely to facilitate, whether by means of any concealment or disguise or otherwise, the dealing with property in contravention of section 25(1), the person shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction —
(c)
in the case where the person is a body corporate, to a fine not exceeding $300,000; or
(d)
in any other case, to a fine not exceeding $150,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both.[15G
Licences
28.—(1) The Minister may grant a licence to exempt any act from the prohibition in section 25.
(2) A licence may be —(a)
general or granted to a category of persons or to a particular person;
(b)
subject to conditions; and
(c)
of indefinite duration or subject to an expiry date.
(3) The Minister may vary or revoke a licence at any time.
(4) Where the Minister grants, varies or revokes a licence, he or she must —(a)
in the case of a licence granted to a particular person, give written notice of the grant of the licence, or the variation or revocation of the licence to that person; and
(b)
in the case of a general licence or a licence granted to a category of persons, take such steps as the Minister considers appropriate to publicise the grant of the licence, or the variation or revocation of the licence.
(5) Any person who does any act under the authority of a licence but fails to comply with any condition attaching to that licence shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction —(a)
in the case where the person is a body corporate, to a fine not exceeding $80,000; or
(b)
in any other case, to a fine not exceeding $50,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both.
(6) The Minister may delegate any power or duty under this section to the Commissioner of Police, except the power of delegation conferred by this subsection.[15H
Source: Singapore Statutes Online (Attorney-General's Chambers), © Government of Singapore.
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