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Tuesday, Nov 13, 2012
SINGAPORE - Between 2010 and 2011, 44 people were convicted of money laundering offences in Singapore, said the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD).
Most of these cases were related to fraud.
And during the same period, nearly $130 million worth of criminal proceeds were seized or frozen as they were linked to money-laundering investigations.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) also said money laundering is an issue it does not take lightly especially as Singapore is a member of the Financial Action Task Force and a founding member of the Asia-Pacific Group on Money Laundering,which was formed in 1997.
The MAS spokesman added Singapore is serious about the global fight against money laundering and terrorist financing.
One way of tackling the issue is by requiring all financial institutions in Singapore to know their customers, conduct regular account reviews and to monitor and report any suspicious transactions. The MAS spokesman said any financial institution that fails in this duty violates the MAS Act.
Anyone convicted can be fined up to $1 million and repeat offenders can be fined $100,000 for every day during which the offence continues after conviction.
The New Paper spoke to DBS and OCBC, and both banks said that they have put in place measures to prevent money laundering.
DBS said it has a group-wide anti-money laundering programme at all of its branches, subsidiaries and affiliates.
The programme includes transaction monitoring, customer screening and employee training.
Ms Koh Ching Ching, head of OCBC's group corporate communications, said OCBC is constantly on the lookout for suspicious transactions passing through its accounts.
She added: "If and when we identify suspicious transactions, we will lodge a report to the law enforcement agencies as we are required to do so under the Singapore law."
