The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has imposed a total of S$27.45 million in penalties on nine financial institutions for breaches related to anti-money laundering (AML) and countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) requirements.
The action follows MAS’ supervisory reviews into institutions with ties to persons of interest in the major money laundering case uncovered in August 2023.
The financial institutions penalised are Credit Suisse Singapore Branch, United Overseas Bank (UOB), UBS AG Singapore Branch, Citibank Singapore, Bank Julius Baer, LGT Bank, UOB Kay Hian, Blue Ocean Invest, and Trident Trust Company.
These reviews, carried out from early 2023 to early 2025, found that while most of the institutions had AML/CFT policies in place, the breaches stemmed from poor or inconsistent implementation.
Lapses in Risk Assessment and Transaction Monitoring
MAS identified several key deficiencies across the institutions.
Five of them, including Bank Julius Baer, Blue Ocean Invest, Citi, Credit Suisse, and UOB Kay Hian, failed to implement adequate processes for assessing the money laundering risks posed by certain customers, which led to misclassification and insufficient safeguards.
All nine institutions were also found to have fallen short in verifying the source of wealth for higher-risk clients, with some failing to investigate discrepancies or corroborate key information.
Eight institutions did not adequately review suspicious transactions flagged by their own systems, including those that were unusually large or inconsistent with customer profiles.
Two institutions also failed to take timely risk mitigation measures after filing Suspicious Transaction Reports, such as enhanced monitoring or reviewing risk classifications.
Credit Suisse faced additional penalties for earlier breaches involving accounts maintained for certain US customers between November 2017 and October 2023.
MAS said all affected institutions have begun remediation efforts and that it will continue to monitor their progress.
The regulator has also published updated supervisory expectations and urged financial institutions to benchmark their practices accordingly to reduce money laundering risks.
In addition to financial penalties, MAS issued prohibition orders and reprimands against several individuals, including senior executives at Blue Ocean Invest, Trident Trust, and UOB, for failures in oversight and due diligence.
MAS Deputy Managing Director Ho Hern Shin said,
“Like other major international financial centres, Singapore is exposed to money laundering risks. The vigilance of our financial institutions and their employees is critical in mitigating such risks.
MAS will work closely with financial institutions to promote more consistent implementation of AML/CFT measures. Where there are serious failings by FIs and their employees, MAS will not hesitate to take firm action.”
Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by jadethaicatwalk via Freepik
