Singapore monetary authority penalises 9 banks, institutions for 2023 money laundering case

Julius Baer Gruppe AG

04/07/2025 10:30

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      Penalties total S$27.45 million for financial institutions
    

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      Largest penalty since 1MDB case in 2017
    

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      MAS cites deficiencies in risk assessments and transaction
monitoring
    

  
    By Jun Yuan   Yong
       SINGAPORE, July 4 (Reuters) - 
    The Monetary Authority of Singapore penalised six banks and
three other financial institutions a total of S$27.45 million
($21.5 million) on Friday in relation to the country's biggest
ever money laundering scandal in 2023. 
  
The case involved more than S$3 billion ($2.2 billion) in
illicit assets seized after 10 foreigners were busted in a
series of simultaneous raids in August 2023. 
    The total penalty is just shy of the S$29.1 million in
financial penalties meted out to eight banks in a case involving
Malaysia's 1MDB in 2017. 
    The banks involved - Credit Suisse, UOB  UOBH.SI , UBS
 UBSG.S , Citibank  C.N , Julius Baer  BAER.S , and LGT Bank -
were each penalised between S$1 million and S$5.8 million. 
    Brokerage firm UOB Kay Hian  UOKH.SI , asset management firm
Blue Ocean Invest and trust and fund services company Trident
Trust Company Singapore were also penalised S$2.85 million,
S$2.4 million and S$1.8 million respectively. 
     The penalties mark the conclusion of MAS's enforcement
actions against financial institutions.
The 10 convicted money launderers were sentenced to jail terms
of between 13 and 17 months in the nation's largest case of its
kind. They were deported and barred from re-entering Singapore
after completing their sentences.
The criminals held money gained from overseas scams and online
gambling operations in bank accounts in Singapore, and
converted some of their cash into real estate, cars, handbags
and jewellery.
     MAS said it has identified shortcomings in the financial
institutions' customer risk assessments, their tracing of the
sources of customers' wealth as well as their ability to monitor
and follow up on suspicious transactions. 
  
     "The financial institutions have embarked on remediation of
the deficiencies and MAS will monitor their progress closely,"
it said.
  
     Four people were also issued prohibition orders preventing
them from carrying out MAS-regulated activities.
  
     In response to media queries, UOB said that it has
implemented prompt remedial actions over the past two years and
committed significant investments to enhance its internal risk
management standards and capabilities further. 
  
     UBS, which agreed to take over Credit Suisse in March 2023,
said that it acknowledged the findings and has cooperated fully
with authorities to resolve the issue.
  
     Blue Ocean Invest said that the company has fully
cooperated with the authorities and has implemented measures to
enhance internal policies and procedures. 
  
     A Trident Trust Company spokesperson also said it has
cooperated with MAS's inspection and implemented a remediation
plan to address breaches.
  
    Citibank, 
    
      
    
  
     In August last year, Singapore 
    charged
     two ex-bankers from Citi and Julius Baer for forging loan
and tax documents for the money launderers.
  
     Singapore has also sought to make it 
    easier
     for law enforcement to prosecute money laundering offences
in the city-state.
  
In June 2024, the government identified Singapore's banking
sector as posing the highest money laundering risk in the
city-state. 

(Reporting by Jun Yuan Yong; Additional reporting by Yantoultra
Ngui; Editing by David Stanway)
((junyuan.yong@thomsonreuters.com))