Singapore Halts Some Remittance Routes to China to Curb Frozen Funds

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Remittance companies tap overseas third-party agents, rather than banks, to complete asset transfers from Singapore to China. Photo: Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) — Singapore’s regulator has ordered remittance companies in the city-state to halt the use of nonbank and noncard channels when transmitting money to persons in China from Jan. 1.

The three-month suspension follows reports of remittances to China through Singapore being subsequently frozen in their beneficiaries’ bank accounts in China by law enforcement agencies, the Monetary Authority of Singapore said in a statement late Monday. It’s unclear why these funds had been frozen.