A 23-year old Singaporean citizen who stands accused of unlicensed Bitcoin dealing will become the first person to be charged under the city-state’s Payment Services Act. The Singapore Police Force revealed today that a 23-year old woman had provided a digital payment token service without a license. She is alleged to have received at least 13 fraudulent fund transfers, worth a total of 3,350 Singapore dollar, which she then used to buy Bitcoin. The identity of the woman was not revealed.
The funds are believed to be proceeds from online scams.
According to the police, the funds are believed to be proceeds obtained from victims of online scams. Police claim that the fraudulent transactions were made “on the instruction of an unknown person,” in return for a commission. The 23-year old Singaporean woman would become the first person to face charges under the new Payment Services Act came into effect in late January this year. The newly implemented act regulates crypto payments and trading enterprises under some aspects of the state’s regulatory regime for traditional payment services.
The law introduced multiple complex registrations and licensing requirements for crypto firms and dealers, among other measures.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore places all types of crypto in one category.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore does not draw a distinction between various types of “payment,” “utility” and “security” tokens, placing them all within a single category of digital payments tokens. Other countries like the United States distinguishes different types of tokens and puts in different categories. Singapore putting all crypto in one broad category makes certain regulatory requirements more difficult to evade.
As reported earlier, the Monetary Authority of Singapore had exempted a number of crypto companies from obtaining a license and working for six months. Among the companies that got benefit from this six-month exemption are Binance, Coinbase, Gemini, Bitstamp, Luno, Upbit, and Wirex.
