SINGAPORE: Ten people were recently nabbed , at Changi Airport for failing to declare that they were bringing in over S$ 20, 000 ( US$ 14, 720 ) in cash into Singapore.
Since May, all guests have had to , make for statements online , and within 72 hrs of arriving at or departing Singapore’s gates.
Why is it necessary to consider massive amounts of cash?
One analyst pointed to the “anonymity” offered by money and the “obvious attractiveness” for those engaged in illegal actions.
The Center for Banking and Finance Law’s director, Associate Professor Sandra Booysen, said,” The larger the sum of money involved, the properly the more cautious it is.
” We have more effective and secure way of keeping money and making payments today.”
The Singapore University of Social Sciences ‘ head of the public safety and security program, Associate Professor Razwana Begum Abdul Rahim, told CNA that declarations aid in the monitoring of suspicious money flows and ensure that the funds are n’t being used for illegal purposes.
These include wealth fraud, violence financing, scams and tax avoidance.
Mr Rajan Supramaniam, top criminal lawyer at Regent Law, gave an example of a situation he handled some years ago, where a feminine buyer had received over S$ 100, 000 as part of substance purchases.
The funds had been moved to her in Singapore from a Kuala Lumpur bill. She decided to leave the money and travel to Johor Bahru to take it that with her.
She was later imprisoned and charged with money fraud.