SINGAPORE – A 58-year-old Singaporean woman, Zin Nwe Nyunt, was sentenced to one year and six months’ jail on July 14 for her role in facilitating suspicious financial transfers amounting to over US$500 million (S$640.7 million) through company bank accounts linked to scam proceeds.
The court found that Zin incorporated a wholesale trading firm called Unione, whose corporate bank accounts later received large transfers of illicit funds — including proceeds from an Australian investment scam.
In March 2024, Zin pleaded guilty to two charges of providing unlicensed payment services in Singapore, working with Nyan Win, a 61-year-old Myanmar national and Singapore permanent resident, who will be sentenced on July 30.
The scheme began in 2019, when a man known as Ko Phillip allegedly enlisted Nyan Win to help set up a Singapore company to facilitate international transfers for a supposed commodities trading business. Banks had previously closed accounts linked to Nyan Win’s own company, so he turned to Zin Nwe Nyunt through her husband, his childhood friend.
Zin incorporated Unione and opened corporate bank accounts with three different banks, then handed over full control, including internet banking access, to Nyan Win. She later admitted she did not know the origin of the funds, nor did she perform checks to verify Ko Phillip’s business claims.
Between January 2020 and April 2021, over US$527 million flowed through the accounts:
US$150M from Jan–Jul 2020 (first account; later shut for suspicious activity)
US$250M from Jul 2020–Apr 2021 (second account)
US$127M from Aug 2020–Mar 2021 (third account)
Zin earned over S$170,000 in commissions, while Nyan Win made more than S$110,000. Both acted without any required payment service provider licenses under Singapore law.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Ryan Lim emphasized their disregard for due diligence, which allowed significant scam proceeds to move through the Singapore banking system.
Zin Nwe Nyunt’s bail was set at S$20,000, and she will begin serving her sentence on August 15.
