What about illegal parking? Which is worse?

Sibei fake grin aside,

Won't be surprised if those stallholders quitted because they could no longer tahan the siao lang rents getting increasingly more siao with time

US insider trading probe: Singapore firm used to launder illegal proceeds

SINGAPORE – Key members of an insider trading ring linked to transactions that ran into the tens of millions of dollars had moved some of the illegal proceeds through a firm in Singapore, The Straits Times has learnt.

The funds were eventually channelled into a bank account linked to a restaurant in Paris.

Charges were filed on Nov 18 against eight suspects in the network, including Singaporeans Ge Zhi and Dev Ananth Durai.

They are accused of trading on privileged information about the finances and merger plans of several publicly traded firms in the US between 2016 and 2024.

The men, who held meetings in locations from Vienna, the Czech Republic and Paris to Dubai, Hong Kong and Singapore, ran a complex operation that included the use of burner phones and code words.

Prosecutors in Boston said the group had recruited investment bankers and corporate insiders, to tap them for confidential information on publicly traded companies. In exchange, the insiders received a share of the profits.

Members of the group then laundered the funds through cash payments, international financial transactions and shell companies.

The group included French national Samy Khouadja, who is said to be the ringleader, and German national Emma Safi, who co-owned a restaurant in Paris with Khouadja.

Court documents showed that Safi and Khouadja, a former banker at Merrill Lynch in France, had recruited Ge into the scheme some time in November 2016.

Ge then travelled to Paris to meet the pair at their restaurant on Nov 19, 2016, and after the lunch meeting, purchased a burner phone and number and started recruiting more traders into the scheme.

US court documents show it was Ge who allegedly recruited individuals to trade on privileged information. He also guided them on when to withdraw their proceeds.

In 2018, Durai was also recruited into the group. Prosecutors said he was trading on inside information by July that year.

Checks by ST showed that some of the illegal proceeds were channelled through Belleby Holding, a firm which Ge incorporated in Singapore in May 2018.

Court documents show Durai wired some €60,000 (S$90,300) – proceeds from insider trading – to Belleby in October 2018. The fund transfers were made on behalf of another suspect, Julien Liu.

According to US prosecutors, Ge controlled the bank account linked to Belleby, which he registered to his residence in Keppel Bay. Ge was a director of the firm until Nov 1, 2025.

The funds were eventually channelled to Safi and Khouadja’s restaurant in Paris.

Checks by ST found that Ge’s wife, a Latvian national, is listed as the current sole director of Belleby. Safi has been a majority shareholder in the firm since May 2022.

The German national is also a shareholder in EA Advisory, a financial services firm located in the Textile Centre and incorporated in March 2017, checks by ST showed. Khouadja, too, is a shareholder of the firm.

Safi is also a shareholder of Tamka Holding, a management consultancy firm in Singapore which shares the same address as EA Advisory.

Safi was arrested in Zurich and handed over to US custody. He pleaded not guilty to his charges including money laundering and securities fraud on Feb 27, 2025.

An arrest warrant has been issued for Khouadja, who is on the run. Liu is also listed as a fugitive.

Charges have been filed against Durai, who remains at large. An arrest warrant has been issued by the District Court of Massachusetts.

ST had earlier reported that Ge was arrested in July 2024 in Singapore, where he has been held under the Extradition Act.

In response to ST, Centurion Law director Favian Kang, who represented Ge in 2024, said he stopped acting for Ge some time in 2024.

A Singapore Police Force (SPF) spokesperson said it is unable to comment on Ge’s extradition case as it is still before the courts.

But the spokesperson confirmed there are no other individuals currently being investigated by the authorities in Singapore in relation to the insider trading case at the moment.

SPF is awaiting “more information from the US authorities to assess whether any offences might have been committed under our laws”, said the spokesperson.

“In the spirit of international cooperation, SPF will continue to render necessary assistance to the US authorities, within the ambit of our laws.”

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/us-insider-trading-probe-singapore-firm-used-to-launder-illegal-proceeds

It's only a blunder when one lives under a totalitarian regime with no free press to speak of.

This is all no thanks to the PAP, because Pinky had already once said he will always hold CECA dearly in his heart.

Not chio. NEXT!

Public transport fare hike: Adult card fares to increase by 9 to 10 cents per ride from Dec 27

SINGAPORE: Adults will pay 9 to 10 cents more per journey for card fares on public buses and trains from Dec 27, the Public Transport Council (PTC) announced on Tuesday (Oct 14).

Overall, public transport fares will be hiked by 5 per cent overall, which is lower than last year’s 6 per cent increase.

For concession card journeys beyond 3.2km, fares will increase by 3 to 4 cents — also lower than last year’s increase of 4 cents per journey. 

More than a third – about 450,000 – of such journeys are currently 3.2km or shorter, commuting to school, work or nearby amenities, said the council in a press release.

Cash fares will also increase by 5 cents for students, 10 cents for seniors and those with disabilities, and 20 cents for adults and other commuters. 

This reflects the higher operating costs of handling cash, the PTC said, adding that less than 1 per cent of all public transport journeys were paid in cash and that such fares were last adjusted in 2023.

In a press conference on Tuesday, PTC chairperson Janet Ang said that while the council seeks to keep fares affordable in a system which sees an average ridership of over seven million daily, there are other considerations at play.

These include the wages of public transport workers, the increasing cost of operations and maintenance of the public transport network, and having sufficient resources to expand and improve the accessibility of the network, she said.

“The council recognises that any fair adjustments can be challenging for commuters in an economic climate of uncertainty. Hence, in the past few years, as you know, the council has not granted the maximum allowable fare quantum,” said Ms Ang.

PTC also announced that it will change the time period it looks at to calculate annual fare increases – the council previously looked at economic data from January to December in the previous year.

From the next fare review exercise onwards, the council will change its 12-month reference to the period spanning from the previous year’s July to June of the current year instead. 

This is so as to reduce the gap between the cost changes for operators and the adjustment of fares by six months, the PTC said. 

Fare changes are usually implemented in December after the annual fare review exercise, which meant that PTC’s decision would be based on data from at least a year ago.

To facilitate this shift, this year’s review will take in the 18-month stretch from January 2024 to June this year.

PTC chief executive Leow Yew Chin said during a press conference that the council had identified the time lag issue three years back.

“We could have done it earlier, but we were still studying the issues then. So I think this is a better time for us to do it, now after looking at the data available,” he said in response to a question from CNA.

OTHER FARE CHANGES

For the first time, the surcharge for express bus services will be raised. These services provide commuters with faster journeys from the heartlands to city areas and key employment centres.

Due to the higher costs of running such services and to improve financial sustainability, the PTC said it will increase their fare difference over basic adult bus and train fares by S$0.40 for adults and S$0.20 for concession groups, for card payments. For cash payments on these services, fares will be increased by S$0.60.

The difference in fares between express and basic services has not been adjusted since 2010.

It cost operators about 1.5 times more to operate express services, said Mr Leow.

“Hopefully, in doing so, the LTA will also have more room to introduce even more City Direct Services to benefit commuters," he said.

A lot more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/public-transport-fare-increase-rail-trains-buses-smrt-sbs-5400781