A 47-year-old woman who is an undischarged bankrupt was charged yesterday with swindling six people out 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 a licence from 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 for up to three years, or both.

In addition, she was 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 for 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 for up to three years, or both.

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

The police also advised the public to check the credentials of the firms and representatives on the MAS website or on the Ministry of Law Insolvency Office's website at https://eservices.mlaw.gov.sg/io/