Singapore’s central bank has imposed financial penalties on nine prominent financial institutions, including Citibank, UBS, and local lender United Overseas Bank (UOB), in connection with the city-state’s largest money laundering case to date. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) concluded its investigation into these institutions’ dealings with individuals convicted in the S$3.0 billion (US$2.4 billion) case and cited “serious lapses” in anti-money laundering (AML) controls.
The MAS investigation followed the 2023 arrests of ten individuals originally from China, who were convicted of laundering illicit proceeds from gambling and online scams through Singapore’s financial system. The scale and nature of the case, which involved high-end properties, luxury vehicles, designer goods, cryptocurrency, and large volumes of cash, have prompted widespread concern over the integrity of the financial hub’s regulatory safeguards.
The MAS found that the banks failed in areas such as client risk assessment, transaction monitoring, and escalation of suspicious activities. According to the regulator, eight of the nine penalised institutions did not properly review transactions flagged as suspicious, some of which were unusually large or inconsistent with customer profiles.
UOB received the largest penalty at S$5.6 million. The bank acknowledged the MAS’ findings and stated it had implemented corrective measures over the past two years. Credit Suisse’s Singapore branch, which became part of UBS following its collapse in March 2023, was penalised S$5.8 million. UBS AG’s Singapore operations were separately fined S$3.0 million, with the bank committing to continued regulatory cooperation.
Citibank NA Singapore and Citibank Singapore Ltd incurred a combined S$2.6 million penalty. Citi reaffirmed its commitment to robust governance and said it had enhanced its client onboarding and monitoring protocols.
Switzerland-based Bank Julius Baer’s Singapore branch was also sanctioned with a S$2.4 million fine. The institution stated it had taken “concrete steps” to improve its AML framework.
The remaining financial institutions, which were not named in the MAS statement, accounted for the rest of the S$27.45 million in total penalties.
In addition to the monetary penalties, MAS has issued prohibition orders ranging from three to six years against four individuals, barring them from working in regulated financial services. Reprimands were also issued to five others.
The regulator emphasised that the breaches stemmed from inconsistent application of AML controls, and warned that all institutions operating in Singapore are expected to adhere rigorously to established risk management frameworks to uphold the country’s standing as a trusted financial centre.
-AFP
