The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on July 4 announced regulatory actions against nine financial institutions and several individuals for breaches related to anti-money laundering rules. These actions follow MAS’ supervisory examinations linked to individuals of interest in the major money laundering case uncovered in August 2023.
The announcement marks the conclusion of enforcement actions against financial institutions that had significant connections to the case.
MAS has imposed total composition penalties of SGD 27.45 million on the nine institutions for failing to meet anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) requirements. These penalties were based on the institutions’ exposure to persons of interest, the number of rule breaches, and the weaknesses in their AML/CFT controls.
Among the institutions penalized, Credit Suisse Singapore Branch received the highest penalty of SGD 5.8 million, followed by United Overseas Bank Limited at SGD 5.6 million. Other banks and capital market services firms, including UBS, Citibank, Julius Baer, LGT Bank, UOB Kay Hian, Blue Ocean Invest, and Trident Trust, were also penalized amounts ranging from SGD 1 million to SGD 3 million.
The breaches were discovered during inspections from early 2023 to early 2025. MAS found that most of the institutions had existing AML/CFT frameworks but failed in implementing them properly. Areas of concern included customer risk assessment, verification of source of wealth, transaction monitoring, and follow-up actions after suspicious transaction reports.
In particular, all nine institutions failed to sufficiently verify the source of wealth of high-risk customers, and eight of them did not properly review suspicious transactions. Two institutions were also found lacking in post-report risk mitigation.
MAS also took action against individuals responsible for managing these institutions’ relationships with the persons of interest. Four individuals from Blue Ocean Invest Pte. Ltd. were issued prohibition orders for three to six years. These included its CEO, COO, and two relationship managers who failed to implement proper AML/CFT controls or raise red flags when required. During their prohibition, they are barred from participating in any financial activities regulated by MAS.
In addition, MAS issued formal reprimands to several individuals from Trident Trust and United Overseas Bank. These included senior management who failed to ensure proper verification processes and post-report follow-up actions. Another nine relationship managers were privately reprimanded for less serious lapses.
MAS clarified that reprimands are based on conduct at the time and do not necessarily indicate current unfitness for employment.
MAS has shared its supervisory expectations for financial institutions to strengthen their controls, particularly in verifying customer wealth. The banking industry has also issued best practice papers for guidance. Financial institutions are advised to benchmark their practices against these standards and remain alert to money laundering risks.
MAS emphasized that relationship managers and supervisors play a crucial role in detecting suspicious activities and should be vigilant when handling customer information. Any concerns identified should be reported internally to help mitigate risks.
The regulator reaffirmed its commitment to working closely with financial institutions to improve the consistency of AML/CFT implementation and warned that strong action will be taken in cases of serious failures.
