On Tuesday, Singapore’s central bank investigated whether banks implicated in a S$2.4 billion ($1.75 billion) money laundering scandal had mitigated risks. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) would act if its investigations show bank control issues, a spokeswoman stated via email.
This month, one of Singapore’s largest anti-money laundering sweeps detained and charged ten foreigners, including Chinese. Seized assets included luxury real estate, cryptocurrency, and automobiles valued at S$2.4 billion.
The issue has raised doubts about whether banks obey the city-state’s tough anti-money laundering standards. “Supervisory engagements with these (financial institutions) are ongoing to assess whether they took all reasonable steps to mitigate money laundering/terrorism financing risks,” the MAS spokeswoman added.
“As we have in the past, we will act when FI controls fail.”
The MAS said it was too early to know if all financial institutions implicated in the incident had met its strict anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism funding regulations.
In recent years, Singapore has seen large asset inflows as rich Asians and others set up family and trust offices to take advantage of incentives.
MAS statistics indicated that single-family offices, which manage investments, taxation, asset transfer, and other financial concerns for the super-rich, increased from 400 in 2020 to 1,100 in 2022.
The MAS said that Singapore’s total assets under management climbed 16% to S$5.4 trillion in 2021, compared to a 12% worldwide rise to $112 trillion.
“The wealth management sector remains a key supervisory focus for MAS, and we have conducted thematic inspections, focusing on enhanced due diligence measures, including corroboration of source of wealth and source of funds,” the MAS stated Tuesday.
Comment Template