By AFP
Those punished by MAS include local lender UOB, which was hit with a S$5.6 million penalty. (EPA Images pic)SINGAPORE: Singapore鈥檚 central bank said today it has penalised several top global financial institutions, including Citibank and UBS, for breaches linked to the island-state鈥檚 biggest money laundering case.Ten people originally from China but holding various nationalities were jailed in Singapore in the S$3.0 billion (US$2.4 billion) case.They used Singapore鈥檚 financial system to launder illicit proceeds from gambling and scams, with observers saying the case hurt Singapore鈥檚 reputation as a global financial centre.Following their arrests in 2023, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) launched an investigation into financial institutions that had dealings with the group as customers.Concluding its probe, the MAS today imposed penalties totalling S$27.45 million on nine financial institutions for breaches in anti-money laundering safeguards.鈥淭he breaches arose out of poor or inconsistent implementation of these (anti-money laundering) policies and controls,鈥 the authority said in a statement.The shortcomings included inadequate customer risk assessment and failure to detect or follow up on certain 鈥渞ed flags鈥 detected in documents that should have cast doubt on some of their clients鈥 sources of wealth, according to the MAS.Eight of the institutions 鈥渇ailed to adequately review relevant transactions flagged as suspicious by their own systems鈥, the regulator added.鈥淭he relevant transactions were unusually large, inconsistent with the customers鈥 profiles or showed unusual patterns.鈥滾iving in Singapore鈥檚 poshest neighbourhoods, the convicted money launderers held assets, including luxury cars, jewellery, designer goods, cryptocurrency and cash 鈥 all seized by police.Banks respond to penaltiesThose punished by MAS include local lender United Overseas Bank (UOB), which was hit with a S$5.6 million penalty.UOB said today 鈥渨e acknowledge and accept MAS鈥 findings鈥 and had taken measures over the past two years to address shortcomings.The Singapore branch of Credit Suisse, which collapsed in March 2023 and was acquired by rival UBS, was given a S$5.8 million penalty.UBS AG鈥檚 Singapore branch was meanwhile handed a S$3.0 million penalty, with the bank saying it would 鈥渃ontinue to work together closely鈥 with regulators.Citi Singapore said it was 鈥渃ommitted to ensuring the highest standard of governance and controls鈥, after Citibank NA Singapore and Citibank Singapore Ltd were hit with a S$2.6 million penalty.The bank said it has also strengthened its 鈥渃lient onboarding and monitoring processes鈥 and will continue to work closely with the authorities.The Singapore branch of Switzerland鈥檚 Bank Julius Baer was also penalised S$2.4 million, saying today it had taken 鈥渃oncrete steps to strengthen our processes and anti-money laundering framework鈥.Three more financial institutions rounded up the rest that were penalised.The MAS also banned four people from doing any business in the industry for between three and six years, and issued reprimands to five more people as part of the actions it had taken.