Singapore (Reuters) – The Singapore Central Bank (Mas) sanctioned six banks on Friday and three other financial institutions for a total amount of 27.45 million Singaporean dollars, $ 21.5 million, as part of the largest money laundering scandal never known in the country.
The case relates to more than $ 2.2 billion in illicit assets seized after 10 foreign nationals were arrested in a series of simultaneous searches carried out in August 2023.
The six banks concerned – Credit Switzerland, UOB, UBS, Citibank, Julius Baer, ​​and LGT Bank – were each sentenced to a fine between a million and $ 5.8 million Singaporeans while the Cartage Company Uob Kay Hian, the Blue Ocean Invest Active Management Company and the Trust Company Singapore Fund between 1.8 million and 2.4 million Singaporean dollars.
The Central Bank said that it had identified shortcomings in the assessment of rising risks and monitoring suspicious transactions of these companies, recognizing that they have undertaken to remedy these shortcomings.
On the banks side, UBS said that she recognized the conclusions of the investigation and that she was fully cooperating with the authorities to solve the problem while Citibank, Uob Kay Hian, Julius Baer and LGT Bank did not immediately respond to a comment request.
Blue Ocean Invest and Trident Trust Company both declared that they had implemented measures to remedy the violations.
The 10 individuals found guilty of money laundering were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 13 to 17 months and were expelled after serving their sentence.
According to the scheme described, these individuals received money from scams abroad and online money games on bank accounts in Singapore that they then spent to buy real estate, cars, handbags or even jewelry.
In August 2024, Singapore charged two former Citi and Julius Baer bankers for falsifying loan documents and tax documents on behalf of money launders.
(Report by Jun Yuan Yong; Bertrand de Meyer, edited by Blandine Hénault)
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