Singapore police arrested 17 suspected loansharks on Thursday for issuing unlicensed loans, making it the year's biggest moneylending syndicate arrest.
Police said on their website that they conducted an island-wide operation on Thursday morning and arrested the 14 men and three women, aged between 32 to 60 years old.
More than 200,000 Singapore dollars (about 147,000 U.S. dollars)in cash have also been seized. Other items seized include eight computers or laptops, two fax machines, 29 mobile phones, thumb drives, assortment of ATM cards, bank books and documents.
The syndicate is believed to have a live loan of approximately 500,000 Singapore dollars in circulation every month. The loansharks were suspected of providing weekly loans at a flat interest rate of 20 percent, said police.
Police added that they managed to arrest the head of the syndicate, a 48-year-old Chinese man, who is a company director.
"The public should be aware of the dangers and risks of taking loans from loansharks. I would advise members of the public to refrain from taking loans from loansharks," Wong Choong Mann, Assistant Director of the Criminal Investigation Department, was quoted by local TV station Channel NewsAsia as saying.
If convicted, the suspects can be fined up to 200,000 Singapore dollars and jailed up to six years.
Source:Xinhua
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article