[SINGAPORE] As at Friday (Mar 21), all redemption requests that Chocolate Finance received between Mar 10 and the 1 pm cut-off on Mar 18 have been successfully paid out, said the wealth investment firm.

“All customers who have received their withdrawals have received 100 per cent of their capital invested, together with all their earned returns,” stated the firm in its latest update.

The fund manager, which was enjoying large inflows of funds due to its attractive rates on deposits, abruptly halted instant withdrawals on Mar 10, due to “high demand”, sparking alarm among investors. It also paused transactions on its debit card.

Before the suspension on Mar 10, customers could request instant withdrawals of up to S$20,000 a day.

The firm said that liquidity issues were not the reason behind the pause in instant withdrawals. Instead, it was a “matter of managing increased transaction volumes”.

Chocolate Finance will continue to process all withdrawals within three to six business days, as it has done since Mar 11.

In a LinkedIn post, founder and chief executive Walter de Oude noted: “Chocolate fronts the cash before receiving settlement (T+2 days). A withdrawal spike can deplete our liquidity buffers, requiring a temporary pause.”