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Penalties amount to 27.45 million Singaporean dollars for financial institutions
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The most important penalty since the 1MDB case in 2017
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the central bank cites gaps in risk assessment and monitoring
(Add the responses of Citi, Uob, Julius Baer and LGT Bank to paragraphs 13, 14 and 17) by Jun Yuan Yong
The Central Bank of Singapore imposed on Friday penalties with nine financial institutions, including Citibank, Julius Baer and UBS, for a total amount of 27.45 million Singaporeans (21, 5 million dollars) as part of the largest money laundering ever recorded in 2023.
The case was over 3 billion s $ (2.2 billion s $) of illicit assets seized after the conviction of 10 foreigners in a series of simultaneous searches in August 2023.
The total penalty is just less than $ 29.1 million Singaporeans of penalties inflicted on eight banks in a case involving the 1MDB of Malaysia in 2017.
The banks concerned – Credit Suisse, Uob Uobh.si, UBS
UBSG.S, Citibank CN, Julius Baer Baer.s, and LGT Bank – were each penalized between 1 million and 5.8 million Singaporean dollars.
The brokerage company UOB KAY Hian Uokh.SI, the Blue Ocean Invest asset management company and the Trust Company Singapore Trust Company Singapore services company were also sanctioned up to 2.85 million Singaporean dollars, 2.4 million Singaporean dollars and $ 1.8 million Singaporean dollars respectively.
These penalties mark the end of the application measures of the Central Bank against financial institutions.
The ten silver launderers found guilty were sentenced to imprisonment sentences ranging from 13 to 17 months as part of this type of this type in the city-state. They were expelled and prohibited from staying in Singapore after serving their sentence.
They held money from scams abroad and online money games on bank accounts in Singapore, and converted part of the money into real estate, cars, handbags and jewelry.
Defects noted
The Singapore monetary authority said that it had noted shortcomings in the assessment of risks linked to customers by financial institutions, in the search for customers’ wealth sources as well as in their ability to control and follow suspicious transactions.
“Financial institutions have undertaken to remedy these shortcomings and the Mas will close their progress closely.”
In response to media questions, UOB has said that it had implemented rapid corrective measures in the past two years and to have initiated significant investments to further improve its standards and internal risk management capacities.
UBS, who agreed to buy Credit Suisse in March 2023, said that she recognized the conclusions and that she was fully cooperating with the authorities to solve the problem.
A spokesperson for Citi Singapore said: “We have further strengthened our customer reception and monitoring processes and continue to work in close collaboration with the authorities to protect the integrity of the financial system and improve control and fight against financial crime” measures ”
Uob Kay Hian said in a stock market that she had taken measures to strengthen her policies, procedures and controls in the fight against money laundering and that she regularly shared developments with the Central Bank.
Blue Ocean Invest said that the company had fully cooperated with the authorities and that it had implemented measures to improve its internal policies and procedures.
A spokesman for Trust Trust Company also said that the company had cooperated with the MAS plan to remedy the offenses.
A spokesperson for Julius Baer said that the company had fully cooperated with the investigation and took concrete measures to strengthen its processes and its framework for the fight against money laundering. LGT Bank said it was determined to fight money laundering and preserve the integrity of the Singapore financial system.
In August last year, Singapore charged two former Citi and Julius Baer bankers for falsifying loan documents and tax documents on behalf of money launders.
Singapore also sought to facilitate the prosecution of money laundering crimes by the authorities responsible for the application of the law.
In June 2024, the Government identified the Singapore banking sector as presenting the greatest risk of money laundering in the city-state.
