On 15 August, two ex-bank managers were charged for their alleged involvement in Singapore’s biggest money-laundering case.
Wang Qiming and Liu Kai, of Citibank and Julius Baer respectively, were the first financial professionals implicated in the scandal.
Another man, who served as a driver to a businessman implicated in the case, was criminally charged. The businessman, Su Binghai, has fled the jurisdiction. His whereabouts are unknown.
Ten convicted, others on the run
To date, 10 people have been convicted of laundering billions in proceeds from crimes including illegal online gambling.
A total of S$3bn (£1.764bn/€2bn/$2.3bn) in dirty money was funnelled through 16 Singapore banks. About S$1bn in cash and assets were also seized, including luxury real estate, vehicles, jewellery, handbags and watches.
To date, all of those convicted have been identified as Chinese nationals from the Fujian province. Sentences in the case range from 13-17 months in jail.
Authorities continue to search for at least 17 suspects who are still at large in the case.
Singapore banking system infiltrated
The scandal undermined Singapore’s reputation as a whistle-clean financial jurisdiction, with strong anti-money laundering (AML) policies.
The city-state is a member of the global Financial Action Task Force, which monitors countries for money-laundering risks. It co-chairs FATF’s Policy Development Group, which helps to develop standards for other markets. Singapore is also a member of the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering. And it works with international financial crimefighting bodies, such as the Egmont Group and Interpol.
According to the finance ministry’s 2024 Money-Laundering Risk Assessment, Singapore remains at high risk of “foreign fraud, particularly cyber-enabled fraud”.
“This threat has been exacerbated by advancements in digitalisation,” the report states. Online portals “allow syndicates to… transcend borders to launder their ill-gotten gains.
“Another key ML threat faced by Singapore arises from foreign organised crime and, in particular, illegal online gambling,” the report states. In the 2023 case, it adds, “several of the accused” benefited from “illegal online gambling from foreign organised criminal groups”.
Tightening casino controls
Singapore recently tightened its financial controls with the Anti Money-Laundering and Other Matters Bill, enacted on 6 August. An amendment to the Casino Control Act allows gaming operators to share customer data to detect suspicious transactions more readily.
The bill also updates the requirements for customer due diligence (CDD) checks to help detect and prevent financial crimes.
Previously, those checks were triggered when patrons made single cash transactions of S$10,000 or more, or deposited S$5,000 or more into an account. The threshold has now been slashed to S$4,000 for both cash transactions and deposits.
Singapore is home to two multibillion-dollar casino resorts: Resorts World Sentosa and Marina Bay Sands.
Singapore still attractive to criminals
Ironically, criminals are drawn to Singapore because of its reputation as a banking centre in good standing with the world community.
“Singapore is inevitably exposed to (transnational money-laundering) threats,” per a June report from the Singapore Monetary Authority. “It is targeted by “criminal syndicates and professional criminal elements seeking to… launder illicit funds from abroad.”