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Singapore Steps Up Efforts to Combat Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing

In a bid to strengthen its anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CFT) regime, Singapore has announced a range of measures aimed at enhancing its risk understanding, controls, and law enforcement capabilities.

Intensifying Industry Engagements

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) will intensify industry engagements to help financial institutions (FIs) better understand emerging risks and typologies, as well as share best practices in controls and risk management. This move is designed to build on existing efforts by MAS to adopt a more intrusive approach to AML/CFT supervision and take tougher action against serious breaches.

Strengthening Law Enforcement Capabilities

Singapore’s law enforcement agencies will also strengthen their capabilities to identify and investigate complex transnational money laundering (ML) cases, with the Financial Intelligence Unit under the Commercial Affairs Department developing more sophisticated data analytics capabilities.

Pursuing Confiscations of Criminal Proceeds

In addition, the authorities will pursue more confiscations of criminal proceeds, targeting both domestic and foreign assets, as well as property of equivalent value and instrumentalities of crimes.

Enhancing Anti-Terrorism Financing Efforts

Singapore’s anti-terrorism financing (TF) regime has faced criticism in the past, with FATF assessors citing a lack of criminal prosecutions and convictions for TF offences. However, Singapore maintains that it has a robust regime to combat TF using the Internal Security Act, which has effectively dealt with 17 TF cases without recourse to prosecution.

The authorities have also secured recent convictions under the Terrorism (Suppression of Financing) Act, although these took place after the FATF assessment and were therefore not taken into account.

Strengthening the AML/CFT Regime

Singapore’s AML/CFT regime has been commended for its strengths, but the FATF evaluation also identified areas where there is scope for improvement. The authorities are committed to continuing their efforts to enhance the regime, which includes the establishment of a National Steering Committee for Combating Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing.

The committee, comprising senior officials from key government agencies, ensures that effective mechanisms are in place to enable cooperation and coordination between agencies to strengthen Singapore’s resilience against criminal abuse.

FATF Mutual Evaluation

The FATF mutual evaluation is an in-depth assessment of a country’s legal and regulatory frameworks for combating illicit financing. The evaluation focuses on the robustness of these frameworks and how effectively they are being implemented.

Singapore’s regime was assessed using the FATF Recommendations, which represent the standard by which technical compliance is measured. The FATF also requires countries to ensure that their AML/CFT systems work together effectively to deliver results.

The mutual evaluation examined Singapore’s progress since its last assessment in 2008 and focused on actions taken in the three years prior to the FATF onsite visit in November-December 2015. Actions taken by Singapore following the onsite visit were not considered for purposes of the evaluation.