Singapore banks tighten checks on China-born clients with other citizenships amid money laundering probe

Other lenders in the city state have started to evaluate whether to take fresh funds from clients with similar profiles on a case-by-case basis, said the people. The process is taking longer and more questions are being asked, the people added.

What we know so far about Singapore’s US$1.3 billion money laundering case

Judges have denied bail for the people after prosecutors cited flight risks related to their multiple passports. While they live in Singapore, many are also alleged to be running illegal gambling businesses in other countries, according to the prosecution. Some of the suspects speak only Chinese but carry many travel documents including from Cambodia, Vanuatu, Cyprus and Dominica.

Credit Suisse and Julius Baer Group Ltd., which had accounts totalling S$125 million with one of the suspects, declined to comment. Citigroup Inc., Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. and United Overseas Bank Ltd., where some of the individuals held funds or were creditors to firms related to them, said the banks work with the authorities and are committed to fight against money laundering.

01:23

Singapore beats Japan with world’s most access-friendly passport in 2023

Singapore beats Japan with world’s most access-friendly passport in 2023

DBS Group Holdings Ltd. said Singapore’s regulatory regime obliges all banks to manage anti-money-laundering risk to high standards, but does not oblige them to deny banking facilities or services to clients – new or existing – of any specific origin merely because they hold certain passports. Other risk factors have to trigger before suspicion is warranted, according to a spokesperson.

In parliament, one question was how offences of such magnitude happened despite the city’s robust laws and anti-money-laundering frameworks. Another asked how the government will step up checks on those from high-risk “golden passport” jurisdictions, and other questions focused on the procedures for investment entities that receive tax incentives.

Minister of State for Home Affairs Sun Xueling told parliament these will be answered in a ministerial statement in October.

DBS CEO Piyush Gupta last week compared the process of identifying illicit transactions to looking for a needle in a haystack, even with the use of technology. “No country can achieve zero crime,” Gupta said at an event.

Singapore’s US$1.3 billion probe exposes Chinese criminals’ paid-for passports

Intelligence and reports filed by banks had earlier alerted the police to suspicious activities, the MAS said at the time.

China is among countries that do not allow dual-citizenship. Holders of a Chinese passport can travel visa-free to 80 destinations, according to Henley & Partners’ Passport Index, less than the 180 places for passport holders of Cyprus, part of the European Union.