Two men — a Malaysian and a Vietnamese national — have been jailed for operating an unlicensed cross-border payment business in Singapore that handled more than S$58 million (RM183.8 million) in transactions.
According to The Straits Times, Patrick Lee Paik Cheng, 66, a Malaysian and Singapore permanent resident, and Dinh Tien Dat, 28, a Vietnamese national, pleaded guilty to providing payment services without a licence.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Grace Teo told the court that Lee had incorporated a company called Tupt in March 2019 and was its sole director, while Dat helped manage its operations.
Dat reportedly came up with the idea after learning from a Vietnamese businessman that international payments to Singapore were often delayed, causing additional costs such as late fees and port charges.
Between July 2020 and April 2022, Tupt’s bank accounts received nearly US$45 million (RM184 million) across 58 transactions. The company facilitated payments mainly for Vietnamese clients purchasing vessels or making business payments in Singapore.
Court documents showed that the duo remitted over S$57 million to various recipients in Singapore and earned nearly S$415,000 in commissions, split 60 per cent to Dat and 40 per cent to Lee.
The court sentenced both men to 30 weeks in jail and fined them S$125,000 each. They will serve an additional 15 weeks if they fail to pay the fine.
Investigations did not find evidence that the funds were linked to criminal activity. Both men were arrested in June 2025.
Under Singapore law, operating a payment service without a licence is punishable by a jail term and fines.
