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By Mihar Dias (C) Copyright September 2022
We are curious how one would be able to deliver a few hundred thousand dollars in plain envelopes to the homes of some of the rich and famous in Malaysia.
So we consulted someone who knows about such activity. He said all you need to do is identify a currency that has a denomination of 10,000. Then you would not require a bagful of money.
In fact, it would be easier if you could just use the largest denomination of Singapore currency which comes in SIN$10,000 dollar notes. They fit snugly into plain brown envelopes.
It would not take many pieces to deliver 300k to your living room or even one million for that matter. No bags, no fuss. Just a couple of plain envelopes would do.
However, following the money laundering concerns and financial practices of many other countries, Singapore’s central bank began withdrawing its higher denomination S$10,000 banknotes from circulation in 2014 and plans to stop the printing of the S$1000 banknotes in 2021. But those already in circulation will remain as legal tender indefinitely. (Source)
In a recent case, a politician received a total of SG$13.56 million (RM42 million) in 40 months since October 2014 in the form of cash. That's a lot of cash but think of Singapore dollars in 10k denomination delivered in stages of 200k, 300k or 500k over a period of 2 or 3 years.
My consultant said that is doable and would not attract any unnecessary attention.
In the above case, the handover of cash was carried out in stages starting from SG$200,000 in October 2014 to February 2015, before being increased twice to SG$300,000 in March 2015 to June 2017 and SG$520,000 in July 2017 to March 2018. (Source)
If it was done using 10k currency notes 200k, 300k or 500k it would consist of only 20, 30 or 50 pieces of currency notes respectively.
Neither would it be conspicuous for one or 2 million dollars. For instance, 100 pieces of 10k would easily fit into an envelope to pay off someone one million in Singapore dollars.
Wary of money laundering activities which often utilise notes of large denomination, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said that given the “risks associated with large value cash transactions and high-value notes”, it would stop producing the S$10,000, though those already in circulation will remain legal tender indefinitely. (Reuters July 2014).
Parties involved in making illegal payments or handling illicit funds would be better off using 10k Singapore notes. It's a preferred currency in the region second only to the US.
So, wonder no more how a UMNO politician could receive so much money in his living room without raising alarms or attracting unnecessary attention from the police or the neighbours.
No big bags or large suitcases of cash.
Just plain brown paper envelopes.
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