SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/ANN): A 49-year-old girl was arrested on Aug 6 in reference to an ongoing police investigation involving the Fun Coffee platform.
In a press release on Aug 8, the police mentioned the lady had actively promoted the Fun Coffee funding scheme and recruited others to hitch.
To take part, customers needed to set up an app and switch Tether (USDT), a cryptocurrency pegged to the US greenback, into pockets addresses offered by means of the app.
“The plans promise unrealistically high returns and offer additional commissions for recruiting others to join the scheme,” mentioned the police. “Participants of the investment scheme in Singapore were subsequently unable to withdraw their funds through the Fun Coffee application.”
The girl was arrested beneath the Multi-Level Marketing and Pyramid Selling (Prohibition) Act.
If charged and convicted, she faces an imprisonment time period of as much as 5 years, a superb not exceeding $200,000, or each.
Based in Phu Quoc, Vietnam, Fun Coffee claims to have belongings of over US$1 billion (S$1.28 billion) and a crew of greater than 5,000.
Over the final week, the authorities in Hong Kong and Macau arrested eight folks in whole linked to the scheme. About 200 folks have misplaced practically HK$100 million (S$16.3 million).
A sufferer in Singapore mentioned she invested round $400,000 and has not been capable of get any a reimbursement.
Fun Coffee, which claims on its web site that it’s a “lifestyle brand combining coffee, wellness and digital innovation into a community experience”, entered Singapore a while in 2025.
The Straits Times visited its registered deal with at 202 Jalan Besar on Aug 7 and located a espresso merchandising machine on the entrance. Handwritten directions have been hooked up to the machine, with instructions on how prospects can scan a QR code to make cost.
The police mentioned members of the general public shouldn’t make any additional funds or transfers to the scheme, even when approached by these claiming to symbolize the enterprise or by means of requests made by way of the Fun Coffee app.
The public must also contemplate it a purple flag when a cost request is made by way of a personal PayNow QR code, a private cellular quantity or an abroad account. — The Straits Times/Asia News Network