- MAS cited weak risk checks, poor transaction monitoring in AML enforcement.
- The fines follow a major case in August 2023 involving over S$3 billion ($2.2 billion) in criminal proceeds from online scams and illegal gambling.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has fined nine financial institutions a total of S$27.45 million ($21.5 million) for anti-money laundering (AML) breaches linked to the country’s largest-ever money laundering case.
The penalties, announced on Friday, come nearly a year after authorities uncovered over S$3 billion ($2.2 billion) in criminal proceeds tied to online scams and illegal gambling. The case involved 10 foreign nationals arrested in coordinated raids in August 2023.
MAS said it found “deficiencies in customer due diligence, risk assessment, and transaction monitoring” during inspections of the institutions involved. Six banks and three other firms were penalised in what marks the regulator’s most extensive AML enforcement action since the 1MDB scandal in 2017.
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Major Banks Among Penalized Institutions
Credit Suisse, UOB, UBS, Citibank, Julius Baer, and LGT Bank each received fines ranging from S$1 million to S$5.8 million. Brokerage firm UOB Kay Hian was fined S$2.85 million, while Blue Ocean Invest and Trident Trust Company Singapore were fined S$2.4 million and S$1.8 million respectively.
Four individuals also received prohibition orders, barring them from conducting any MAS-regulated activity.
The 10 convicted launderers, who have since been deported, served jail terms of between 13 and 17 months. Authorities said the group moved criminal proceeds from overseas into Singapore, funnelling funds through local bank accounts and using them to purchase luxury assets, including property, cars, jewellery and designer goods.
MAS said the institutions involved failed to adequately assess customer risk profiles, trace sources of wealth, and investigate suspicious activity. The enforcement marks the conclusion of MAS’s AML investigations into the case. In June 2024, the Singapore government identified the banking sector as the city-state’s highest money laundering risk area.
Authorities have since introduced new measures to facilitate faster prosecution of AML offences, reflecting rising concerns over illicit flows through financial hubs.
