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The Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Gan Kim Yong, has announced that police are investigating seven subjects for suspected involvement in the illegal buying or selling of Worldcoin accounts and tokens.

During a parliamentary discussion on Sept. 9, the seven were suspected of offering Worldcoin-related payment services without licenses, which is a violation under the Payment Services Act 2019. 

Replying to parliamentary questions on Worldcoin’s risky operations in Singapore, Yong stated:

“The Payment Services Act 2019 (PS Act) prohibits persons who are unlicensed or not exempted from providing a payment service under the PS Act. Based on information provided to MAS, Worldcoin does not perform a payment service under the PS Act.”

According to the Singapore Police Force (SPF) press release on Aug. 7, the police force had initially arrested four men and women. A preliminary finding revealed that three of those arrested recruited individuals to sign up for Worldcoin accounts before taking over the account and tokens in exchange for cash.

The accounts and Worldcoin tokens were then handed over to the other parties who were involved in the purchasing and selling of the accounts. The report stated that more than 200 mobile phones were seized as evidence and the investigation continues. 

The payment service operations are further suspected of being misused for criminal activities such as money laundering and funding terrorism. 

In terms of data privacy, Yang said: “Organizations that handle such data, including biometric data, must ensure they put in place the necessary data protection and security arrangements to address the risks involved when designing and operating their systems and processes.”

Finally, the Chairman of MAS urged consumers to remain vigilant against “inducements to transfer access to their digital payment token wallet or World ID, as these accounts could be misused by third parties."

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