The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has fined Citibank, DBS Bank and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. (OCBC) and Swiss Life, for a total of S$3.8 million (US$2.83 million) alleging anti-money laundering and anti-money laundering offense violations. terrorist financing requirements. The regulator said the alleged breaches related to irregularities around the Wirecard collapse.
DBS, OCBC, Citibank and Swiss Life agreed to pay S$2.6 million, S$600,000, S$400,000 and S$200,000 respectively, according to a statement released today (Wednesday). But MAS said it found no misconduct by employees of the financial institutions involved.
Wirecard was a German provider of electronic payments transaction outsourcing solutions that collapsed in 2020 after a 1.9 billion euro ($2.3 billion) shortfall was discovered on its books. Wirecard SG, the company’s Singapore-based subsidiary, later filed for bankruptcy, owed creditors nearly $4 billion, and was directed to cease operations in the region.
Ho Hern Shin, Deputy Director General of Financial Supervision at MAS, noted that “given Singapore’s growing importance as an international financial centre, MAS expects our financial institutions to intensify their controls against facilitating illicit financial flows.”
“They must implement rigorous procedures to know their customers, monitor ongoing transactions to ensure they are consistent with their understanding of their customers and business, and exercise greater vigilance when customers use complex structures,” Shen added.
Regarding Citibank, the regulator said the lender failed to understand the control structure of two of the company’s accounts. In response to the allegation, Citi said it has since taken steps to enhance its KYC processes, according to a spokesperson. Reuters.
Gaps in combating money laundering and terrorist financing
On the other hand, DBS, which is one of the largest fines issued by MAS, is alleged to have suffered breaches in security checks related to 11 of the company’s accounts and failed to update customer risk ratings to ascertain the source of funds. The lender responded that the fraudulent transactions were part of an elaborate scheme.
OCBC said Reuters that one of its clients was implicated in the Wirecard affair and that it had allocated resources to strengthening anti-money laundering measures. According to the MAS, the financial institution did not inquire about the background and purpose of the fraudulent transactions despite the OCBC’s incompatibility with the account holders.
However, MAS said the accused financial institutions have taken remedial measures to address identified loopholes in AML/CFT controls, including strengthening their procedures and operations and conducting staff training.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has fined Citibank, DBS Bank and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. (OCBC) and Swiss Life, for a total of S$3.8 million (US$2.83 million) alleging anti-money laundering and anti-money laundering offense violations. terrorist financing requirements. The regulator said the alleged breaches related to irregularities around the Wirecard collapse.
DBS, OCBC, Citibank and Swiss Life agreed to pay S$2.6 million, S$600,000, S$400,000 and S$200,000 respectively, according to a statement released today (Wednesday). But MAS said it found no misconduct by employees of the financial institutions involved.
Wirecard was a German provider of electronic payments transaction outsourcing solutions that collapsed in 2020 after a 1.9 billion euro ($2.3 billion) shortfall was discovered on its books. Wirecard SG, the company’s Singapore-based subsidiary, later filed for bankruptcy, owed creditors nearly $4 billion, and was directed to cease operations in the region.
Ho Hern Shin, Deputy Director General of Financial Supervision at MAS, noted that “given Singapore’s growing importance as an international financial centre, MAS expects our financial institutions to intensify their controls against facilitating illicit financial flows.”
“They must implement rigorous procedures to know their customers, monitor ongoing transactions to ensure they are consistent with their understanding of their customers and business, and exercise greater vigilance when customers use complex structures,” Shen added.
Regarding Citibank, the regulator said the lender failed to understand the control structure of two of the company’s accounts. In response to the allegation, Citi said it has since taken steps to enhance its KYC processes, according to a spokesperson. Reuters.
Gaps in combating money laundering and terrorist financing
On the other hand, DBS, which is one of the largest fines issued by MAS, allegedly ran into holes in security checks related to 11 of the company’s accounts and did not update customer risk ratings to ascertain the source of funds. The lender responded that the fraudulent transactions were part of an elaborate scheme.
OCBC said Reuters that one of its clients was implicated in the Wirecard affair and that it had allocated resources to strengthening anti-money laundering measures. According to the MAS, the financial institution did not inquire about the background and purpose of the fraudulent transactions despite the OCBC’s incompatibility with the account holders.
However, MAS said the accused financial institutions have taken remedial measures to address identified loopholes in AML/CFT controls, including strengthening their procedures and operations and conducting staff training.