As part of its ongoing effort to strengthen its enforcement against market misconduct, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has for the first time reportedly charged three individuals with front-running offences This represents one of the first joint investigations by the MAS and the Commercial Affairs Department of the Singapore police that has resulted in […]

Swiss private bank Falcon has been blocked from taking on new business in Singapore by the local central bank and financial regulator, Swiss newspaper Finanz und Wirtschaft said on Wednesday, citing information it had obtained. Falcon is one of the banks under investigation by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) for a possible breach of […]

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (“MAS”) recently announced that it has withdrawn approval from the Singapore branch of an international bank due to serious breaches of anti-money laundering (“AML”) requirements, poor management oversight, and gross misconduct by certain bank staff. http://www.mas.gov.sg/News-and-Publications/Media-Releases/2016/MAS-directs-BSI-Bank-to-shut-down-in-Singapore.aspx MAS also imposed financial penalties on the bank and referred members of staff and […]

The Money Authority of Singapore’s recent announcement that it intends to withdraw BSI Bank Limited’s licence highlights the potentially severe consequences for banks breaching their AML obligations – and a trend beyond mere financial penalties. It also highlights the ever-increasing risks for individuals. This article summarises the key facts and provides four important takeaways for […]

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has published revised notices to financial institutions on anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT). The revisions are benchmarked against international best practices and the latest recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force. Key changes to the AML/CFT notices include: requiring more comprehensive enterprise-wide AML/CTF risk assessment […]