SHANGHAI, Aug. 7 -- A SHANGHAI court yesterday sentenced three Singaporeans and a Chinese citizen to prison terms ranging up to 14 years for an underground banking scheme involving more than five billion yuan (US$655 million) - the city's biggest such case.

Singaporeans Loh Foy Tau, 30; Mok Kwok Kee, 42; and Lee Kee Yong, 38, were handed prison terms ranging from 13 to 14 years for illegal banking.

They will be deported after serving their sentences, said the Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People's Court, which heard the case.

Chen Peixiang, a Fujian Province native, was sentenced to nine years in prison on the same charge.

The defendants were convicted of performing foreign currency trades without authorization and transferring a total 5.3 billion yuan through 68 bank accounts from January 2004 to April 2006.

An investigation into the black-market banking ring began in early 2006, when a Pudong branch of the Bank of Communications noticed a man came in almost every day to transfer large amounts of money. When the bank clerks suggested that he apply for VIP services, he refused.

The man's behavior aroused suspicion among the bank staff, and they began checking his account records. When their investigation led them to suspect possible money laundering, they turned their findings over to public security authorities.

Investigators found that the four were collecting huge amounts of money in an underground bank.

Loh, the leader, said in court that he and his confederates were hired by Blooming Enterprises, a Singapore currency exchange company, in 2004. They were told to set up offices in Shanghai and Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, to exchange currency, and they opened dozens of private accounts in 11 banks.

Loh told the court he received the account numbers and the amount of the money he and the others were required to transfer every day from Blooming Enterprises.