The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) imposed penalties of S$5.2 million on Standard Chartered Bank, Singapore Branch (SCBS) and S$1.2 million on Standard Chartered Trust (Singapore) (SCTS).
The penalties were for breaches of MAS’ anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism requirements, the authorities said in a press statement on Mar 19, 2018.
These breaches occurred when trust accounts of SCBS’ customers were transferred from Standard Chartered Trust (Guernsey) to SCTS from December 2015 to January 2016. MAS found risk management and controls in relation to the transfers to be unsatisfactory.
SCBS and SCTS also failed to file suspicious transaction reports in a timely manner.
“MAS requires financial institutions to adequately assess money laundering risks when deciding whether to accept customers," said MAS’ Deputy Managing Director Mr Ong Chong Tee. "They should also have in place good systems and processes to monitor customer transactions. We expect financial institutions to remain vigilant by instilling a strong risk culture.”