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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

https://www.moneylaundering.com/news/singapore-penalizes-9-financial-firms-over-2-3-billion-money-laundering-scandal/?type=free

MONEY LAUNDERING

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