Financial institutions in Singapore face significant penalties for failing to adhere to Anti-Money Laundering regulations
In a significant move to combat money laundering, Singapore has been taking robust actions since the exposure of a multibillion-dollar scandal in August 2023. The Singapore Police Force seized assets totalling SGD 1 billion (USD 782 million) and arrested 10 foreign nationals, marking the second-largest collective money laundering fine imposed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in 2025.
Following this, Singapore has strengthened its financial system against money laundering with a series of measures. On 30 June and 1 July 2025, MAS published updated anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) notices and guidelines for financial institutions (FIs) and variable capital companies (VCCs). These revisions, effective from 1 July 2025, aim to align Singapore’s framework with the latest global standards and promote consistent and rigorous implementation of AML/CFT requirements.
MAS has also demonstrated a firm stance on AML/CFT breaches. In July 2025, nine financial institutions were fined a collective SGD 27.45 million (USD 19.12 million) for weak AML/CFT measures, with the perpetrators being linked to a S$3 billion money laundering case involving overseas scams and online gambling proceeds. The financial institutions include branches of Credit Suisse, UBS, Citibank, Julius Baer & Co, United Overseas Bank, LGT Bank, UOB Kay Hian Private Limited (UOBKH), Blue Ocean Invest, and Trident Trust Company (Singapore).
The breaches by these financial institutions were revealed during MAS' supervisory examinations between early 2023 and early 2025, which revealed poor or inconsistent implementation of AML/CFT measures across the nine institutions. All nine financial institutions infringed MAS requirements by failing to detect or adequately investigate discrepancies or red flags about customers' purported sources of wealth.
In addition to fines, MAS has banned multiple executives from participating in Singapore’s financial sector for serious failings in AML controls. MAS deputy managing director Ho Hern Shin emphasized the importance of financial institutions' vigilance in mitigating money laundering risks.
The Singapore Parliament passed a more stringent Anti-Money Laundering and Other Matters Act in August 2024, reinforcing MAS’s legal powers to regulate and enforce AML measures within financial institutions. MAS commits to close collaboration with FIs to promote consistent and rigorous implementation of AML/CFT requirements, emphasizing preventive action and supervisory vigilance.
By late 2023, the total assets confiscated reached a staggering SGD 3 billion (USD 2.2 billion). The perpetrators of the scandal laundered the proceeds from overseas criminal activity, including scams and illegal gambling, by falsifying documents to verify the origin of funds in Singapore bank accounts.
MAS has also taken regulatory action against 18 individuals responsible for overseeing the financial institutions' relationships with persons of interest in the scandal. The firms have embarked on remediation of the deficiencies, and MAS will monitor their progress closely. By the summer of 2024, all 10 foreign nationals were sentenced for their role in the illicit activity.
These concerted efforts—comprising updated regulatory frameworks, strict enforcement against breaches, and legislative strengthening—show Singapore’s commitment to robustly safeguard its financial system from money laundering risks in the aftermath of one of the largest fines ever imposed by MAS.
- Singapore's financial system has been fortified against money laundering following the large-scale money laundering scandal in 2023, with institutions such as Credit Suisse, UBS, and UOBKH being fined for lacking sufficient Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) measures.
- In line with global standards, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has updated its AML/CFT notices and guidelines for financial institutions and variable capital companies, effective from 1 July 2025.
- Singapore's government has shown dedication to combating money laundering and financing of terrorism through various measures, including enacting a more stringent Anti-Money Laundering and Other Matters Act in August 2024 and taking regulatory action against individuals responsible for AML breaches in financial institutions.
