Money changer gets fine for trying to bribe Maybank employee to get discontinued S$1,000 notes for profit

SINGAPORE — On hearing that the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) would stop issuing S$1,000 bills, a money changer saw an opportunity to profit from what would become rare currency notes.

So, Ahamed Sahib Ziaudeen Abdul Rahman tried to secure more of such notes for himself, and even offered a Maybank employee at least S$2 in commission for each S$1,000 note that the bank employee could procure for him.

However, Mr Poh Leong Hui, who was the bank’s assistant service manager, reported the matter to Maybank’s compliance unit instead, which in turn referred the matter to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau.

On Wednesday (May 10), Sahib, 47, was sentenced to a fine of S$3,500 after the Singaporean pleaded guilty to corruptly offering gratification to Mr Poh.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Andrew Chia told the court that Sahib’s offence took place on Dec 19 in 2020.

This was two years after he registered a sole-proprietorship for $&C Xchange Centre, a money-changing shop at People’s Park Centre, which is a shopping centre located beside the State Courts.

DPP Chia said that Sahib would exchange bills for his business at the Maybank branch located within People’s Park Centre, and Mr Poh worked at that branch.

Weeks before the offence, MAS announced on Nov 3 that it would discontinue issuing S$1,000 notes from January 2021, to mitigate against the risks of money-laundering and terrorism financing.

With the notes set to become hard to find, Sahib decided that he could charge his clients more if they asked for these notes, and he would mark up his profit margin by S$5 to S$10 for such requests, DPP Chia said. 

Sahib enquired with Maybank, after the MAS announcement, if the bank would provide exchange services for S$1,000 bank notes, but was told that it no longer catered to such requests.

In an effort to keep more S$1,000 notes in stock, he approached fellow money changers and offered them around S$2 in commission for each S$1,000 note that they were able to procure for him.

On Dec 19, Sahib bumped into Mr Poh near his workplace and told the bank officer that he needed help securing 10 to 15 pieces of S$1,000 notes.

Sahib then offered to give Mr Poh S$2 to S$3 as commission for each note that the latter could procure for him.

If Mr Poh had accepted this offer, he would have received about S$20 to S$30 for the job.

The money changer gave his mobile number to Mr Poh and told him to call if he was able to get hold of any S$1,000 notes.

However, shortly after that, Mr Poh reported the matter to his bank’s compliance unit.

Seeking a fine of at least S$5,000, DPP Chia said that Sahib was motivated by financial gain to commit his offence.

He added that there was also some level of planning involved in his offence because he only went to Mr Poh because he knew he could not officially obtain S$1,000 notes from Maybank.

In seeking a lighter sentence for Sahib, defence lawyer Hawa Jailani from Assameur LLC said that her client was "driven by desperation" when he made the offer to Mr Poh because the offence took place during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The pandemic had made it a challenge for Sahib to sustain his family financially in Singapore and India, she added.

Ms Hawa then sought a fine lower than what the prosecution was seeking, saying that S$5,000 would be excessive and “crushing” for her client.

She added that Sahib not only deeply regrets and is disappointed in his actions, but hopes to redeem himself soon.

For his offence, Sahib could have been fined up to S$100,000 or jailed up to five years, or both.