Singapore introduces new anti-money laundering strategy

Singapore has been on high alert for financial crimes since a high-profile money laundering case in 2023. On October 30, the government published its National Anti-Money Laundering Strategy (AML).a ‘risk-based’ plan to combat the growing threat.

In 2023, the republic was shaken by the scandal involving S$3 billion (£1.762 billion/€2 billion/$2.3 billion) of dirty money. Police arrested ten Chinese nationals who were living in luxury in Singapore but held multiple international passports. They seized 152 properties, 62 vehicles and other assets including jewellery, designer goods, alcohol, cryptocurrency and cash.

According to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), some of the suspects laundered money through illegal gambling sites, which surged in popularity during the Covid-19 lockdown.

In June, the last of the ten suspects was convicted. Despite the severity of the crimes and the impact on Singapore’s global reputation, prison sentences for the group were relatively modest, ranging from 13 to 17 months. Seventeen suspects are still on the run.

Cyber ​​fraud is increasing

To combat similar cases, the new National AML Strategy is based on three pillars: prevention, detection and enforcement.

In its money laundering risk assessment, the MHA noted that “a large number of ML cases arise from foreign fraud, particularly cyber fraud.” Other threats come from “foreign organized crime, and in particular illegal online gambling.”

The MHA also published its Proliferation Financing (PF) Risk Assessment to “update and deepen” its understanding of the danger. It acknowledged that Singapore’s status as an international financial center and major trade and shipping hub makes the country “vulnerable to the risks of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.”

Banks set audit standards

In related news, the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) last month published a best practice paper on preventing money laundering and terrorist financing.

According to The Edge Singaporethe article was produced in collaboration with the Anti-Money Laundering Audit Peer Group (AAPG). The ABS said data analytics is a crucial tool in identifying high-risk customers and business segments.

Loo Siew Yee of the Monetary Authority of Singapore added that a thorough audit system “supports financial institutions’ controls against money laundering and terrorist financing.”

Casinos on the front lines

Casinos have also been given the power to help detect financial crime. In August one amendment to the Casino Control Act of 2006 has given Resorts World Sentosa and Marina Bay Sands the freedom to share data about customers without their consent to more quickly detect patterns of criminal activity.

The change also lowered the thresholds for customer due diligence (CDD) checks. In the past, these checks were activated by one-time cash transactions of S$10,000 or deposits of S$5,000. The threshold was lowered to S$4,000 for both cash transactions and deposits.