Jail, fine for unlicensed moneylender who lent at least $5.9k to maids with 15% interest

SINGAPORE – An unlicensed moneylender has been sentenced to seven months’ jail and fined $30,000 after providing loans to multiple domestic helpers with 15 per cent interest.

Stanley Suresh Nadaraja was caught after he went to the home of one of the women’s employers to look for her over an unpaid loan and a member of the household made a police report.

On June 23, the 47-year-old Singaporean was given his sentence after he pleaded guilty to one count of operating a moneylending business without a licence.

He will spend an additional month behind bars if he fails to pay the fine.

From 2021 to 2023, he provided 19 loans totalling at least $5,900 and obtained at least $885 in interest.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Joseph Gwee told the court that Stanley, who used to work as a school van driver, began his unlawful moneylending business in October 2021 after suffering a serious fall.

He needed funds to pay for his medical fees and daily expenses, and initially gave loans to his wife’s friends.

After some domestic helpers found out about his services and contacted him, he also extended loans to them.

Those who borrowed money from Stanley had to share information with him, including their passport details and bank account numbers.

He would tell them that he charged 15 per cent interest for each loan before transferring the money to their bank accounts via PayNow.

The women repaid their loans via the same payment system, said the DPP.

In 2021, he provided three loans totalling $900 to three domestic helpers and gave 11 loans totalling $3,500 to another eight the following year.

Stanley provided five loans totalling $1,500 to four domestic helpers in 2023, said the prosecutor.

On Oct 3 that year, a woman made a police report after he went to her condominium to look for her helper.

The authorities managed to trace him, and he was charged in court in 2024.