SINGAPORE - A 47-year-old woman who is an undischarged bankrupt was charged on Thursday (June 4) with swindling six persons of over $1 million meant to be used for foreign exchange investments.

Between 2015 and 2017, Grace Yee allegedly offered foreign exchange trading services without the licence issued by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the police said in a statement.

During this time, she is said to have collected and misappropriated over $1 million from six investors that was meant to be traded in leveraged foreign exchange on their behalf.

Yee was charged with two counts of criminal breach of trust, each carrying a jail term of up to seven years, a fine, or both.

She also faces two counts of carrying on a business in a regulated activity without a proper licence granted by MAS. She could be fined up to $150,000, jailed up to three years, or both.

She was also charged with two counts of travelling out of Singapore without the Official Assignee's permission under the Bankruptcy Act. For this offence, she could be fined up to $10,000, jailed up to two years, or both.

For obtaining credit without informing her creditor that she is an undischarged bankrupt, she could also be fined up to $10,000, jailed up to three years, or both.

People are advised not to deal with unregulated companies or persons when they come across such investment opportunities. Those who choose to deal with unregulated entities forgo the protection under MAS's regulations, the police said.

They advise the public to check the credentials of the company and representatives available on the MAS website or on the Ministry of Law Insolvency Office's website.