Multi-pronged effort to fight money laundering
MR RAYMOND Koh Bock Swi raised some important issues related to Singapore’s anti-money laundering regime in his letter (“Are we well equipped to fight money laundering?”;May 28).
In a subsequent letter (“Money laundering: Banks not a big worry, but watch other sectors”; yesterday), Mr Tan Sin Liang highlighted the tough controls that banks in Singapore are required to put in place to prevent money laundering.
We agree with Mr Koh that Singapore must be vigilant against money laundering because our openness as an international financial centre and transport hub exposes us to this risk.
And we assure Mr Koh and other readers that insinuations that Singapore is a major centre for money laundering are not true.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) does indeed have a strong legal and regulatory framework to guard against money-laundering risks in the financial sector.
Financial institutions, including finance companies, life insurers, fund managers, financial advisers, money changers and remittance agents, are required to perform due diligence on their customers and closely monitor transactions that are suspicious.
Financial institutions are rigorously supervised by MAS for compliance with these requirements.
Failure to comply can attract fines of up to $1 million per offence.
Singapore’s anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regime extends beyond the financial sector to other sectors, to include real estate agents, lawyers and accountants.
Our AML/CFT efforts are coordinated by a multi-agency committee, led by the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Finance and MAS.
The letters from Mr Koh and Mr Tan remind us that Singapore cannot be complacent on AML/CFT risks.
Cross-border money-laundering risks are constantly evolving.
Where new cross-border risks arise, Singapore will work proactively with our foreign counterparts to understand the nature of these risks, and take the necessary action to mitigate them.
Any person who comes across a transaction that may be linked to money laundering should lodge a report with the Suspicious Transaction Reporting Office at the Commercial Affairs Department.
