Citibank, UBS and Julius Baer, tied to a $2.3 billion money-laundering scheme and fined by MAS
06/07/2025
It has been reported:-
Singapore’s primary anti-money laundering regulator imposed a combined $21.5 million of fines Friday on a group of domestic and international financial institutions, including Citibank, UBS and Julius Baer, tied to a $2.3 billion money-laundering scheme.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore, or MAS, noted in a statement that the agency had uncovered “poor or inconsistent implementation” of AML controls at the banks and wealth management firms, which also include locally headquartered United Overseas Bank Limited and the local affiliate of Liechtenstein’s LGT Bank.
Friday’s fines trace back to the city-state’s largest-ever money laundering investigation, which authorities launched in 2023 and have linked to illegal online-gaming operations.
The investigation has led to the criminal convictions of 10 Chinese nationals and the seizure of gold, luxury vehicles and real estate across Singapore, but also raised questions over the effectiveness of the global financial services hub’s legal and regulatory framework.
MAS noted that five of the institutions penalised on Friday failed to assess the risks posed by individual clients fully. At the same time, eight of them were unable to adequately review transactions flagged by their monitoring systems, and all nine neglected to conduct proper source-of-wealth checks on high-risk customers linked to the scheme.
SOURCE
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As well as owning and publishing Comsure's copyrighted works, Comsure wishes to use the copyright-protected works of others. To do so, Comsure is applying for exemptions in the UK copyright law. There are certain very specific situations where Comsure is permitted to do so without seeking permission from the owner. These exemptions are in the copyright sections of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended)[www.gov.UK/government/publications/copyright-acts-and-related-laws]. Many situations allow for Comsure to apply for exemptions. These include 1] Non-commercial research and private study, 2] Criticism, review and reporting of current events, 3] the copying of works in any medium as long as the use is to illustrate a point. 4] no posting is for commercial purposes [payment]. (for a full list of exemptions, please read here www.gov.uk/guidance/exceptions-to-copyright]. Concerning the exceptions, Comsure will acknowledge the work of the source author by providing a link to the source material. Comsure claims no ownership of non-Comsure content. The non-Comsure articles posted on the Comsure website are deemed important, relevant, and newsworthy to a Comsure audience (e.g. regulated financial services and professional firms [DNFSBs]). Comsure does not wish to take any credit for the publication, and the publication can be read in full in its original form if you click the articles link that always accompanies the news item. Also, Comsure does not seek any payment for highlighting these important articles. If you want any article removed, Comsure will automatically do so on a reasonable request if you email info@comsuregroup.com.