The city-state is known for its low crime rate. (File)
Singapore:
Simultaneous raids in mid-August by authorities in the city-state known for its low crime rates led to the arrest of 10 foreigners and the seizure of luxury properties, cars, gold bars, designer handbags and jewelry worth S$1 billion.
“This case is a reminder that even the strictest preventive measures can be circumvented by determined criminals,” Josephine Teo, the second home affairs minister, told parliament on Tuesday.
The government will set up an inter-ministerial panel to review the anti-money laundering regime, reflecting lessons learned from the case, she said.
She was one of three ministers who responded to nearly 60 questions from lawmakers about the case.
Indranee Rajah, the second finance minister, will chair the inter-ministerial committee, comprising political office holders from the central bank and the ministries of interior, justice, labor and commerce.
They will assess four areas: preventing corporate structures from being abused; ensure that financial institutions cooperate with each other and with authorities; pushing external players such as real estate agents to protect themselves against money laundering; improving detection capabilities.
The government said it was inspecting financial institutions suspected of involvement in the case and would take enforcement action against any of them, and their staff, if they were found to have violated the central bank’s requirements.
Agencies are also reviewing processes, including central bank approval for family offices to get tax breaks, and are considering regulating high-value assets such as luxury cars and bags.
However, any changes should not result in legitimate businesses and customers being unnecessarily harassed, Teo said.
The case had been on the police radar since 2021, following the filing of suspicious transaction reports by financial institutions, Teo said.
She dismissed as “completely untrue” speculation in local and international news media that the operation was commissioned by China.
“We started an investigation because we suspected that criminal offenses had been committed in Singapore,” Teo added. “When we confirmed our suspicions, we took action.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
