Singapore, one of the top business and tourism destinations in Asia, has been cracking down on money laundering and terrorism financing. The state authorities would continue to “deploy all the resources and powers” at their disposal to “thwart” the criminals, said Minister of State for Trade and Industry Alvin Tan, speaking in parliament yesterday.
This statement was made by Tan on behalf of Singapore Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong. His comment followed the revelation by Second Minister for Home Affairs Josephine Teo yesterday that Singapore authorities had seized or frozen assets worth more than SGD2.8 billion (USD2 billion).
In mid-August this year, it was reported that the Singapore Police Force (SPF) had arrested 10 foreigners and seized/frozen SGD1 billion worth of assets, from luxury merchandise to cars to real estate. The hunt was on for more people.
Some 400 officers took part in a series of co-ordinated simultaneous raids, netting the suspects, who were of various nationalities, including Chinese. While these raids were conducted by the SPF, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said that it had worked closely with the Commercial Affairs Department to facilitate the investigations into money laundering.
Yesterday, the Singapore parliament heard that the scope of the money laundering investigations had been expanded. Teo, who is also the Minister of Communications and Information, said that Singaporeans as well as foreigners were investigated and Singapore would review ways to fortify its immigration verification.
Teo said, “Singapore takes money laundering seriously. We do not turn a blind eye to any risks, once we become aware of them. This is not the first time that we have taken serious enforcement action against money laundering offences, nor will it be the last.”
Reporting on this topic, Time magazine said: “Singapore has seen an influx of affluent Asians, including those from China, seeking safe investments amid crackdowns in the mainland and pandemic restrictions.”
Pointing out the need to regulate more without driving away genuine applicants coming into the country, Teo said, “Most people are not illegal money launderers or criminals. If the rules are too tight, then it is the vast majority of innocent applicants who will be unnecessarily penalised.”
Tan said in his address to parliament that Singapore offered so much by way of “international connectedness, diversity and depth of our financial ecosystem” that these factors also made the country “attractive to criminals, who will seek to exploit these very qualities to hide their tracks and launder their ill-gotten gains”.
However, the government was committed to a clean financial system, said the trade minister. “While criminals will vary their tactics to conceal their illicit activities, we will deploy all the resources and powers at our disposal to thwart them, bring them to justice and continually strengthen our defences against them,” he said.
In his address, he explained the MAS strategy to cut the risks of money laundering and terrorism financing. This includes due diligence requirements for banks and other financial institutions, and additional checks for higher-risk customers. This category consists of customers engaged in professions or services where there is a higher risk of money laundering. All financial institutions in Singapore are required to immediately report anything looking dodgy to the Suspicious Transaction Reporting Office (STRO) and then take measures like restricting the account or terminating the customer relationship.