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| Singapore tightens
up |
|
Singapore is set to beef up its guidelines
against money laundering and terrorist finance. The country’s
regulator has announced plans to revise its guidelines regulating
financial institutions and the fight money laundering and the
funding of terrorism. These will complement the government's
latest laws, passed in 2002, to combat criminal financial activities
and are likely to be published by the end of 2004.
The guidelines produced by the Monetary
Authority of Singapore 'The legislation provides a broad framework
while the guidelines help to implement the practical measures,'
said Yvette Cheak, head of the Association of Banks in Singapore
committee on compliance.
The guidelines also reflect the government's
risk-based approach to regulation, said ABS director Ong-Ang
Ai Boon. Banks will have to implement more measures to ascertain
the risk profiles of customers and the level of risk they represent,
she said.
Under the revised guidelines, which
will be issued formally by the end of the year, ABS member
banks will have to obtain more information about customers.
These guidelines complement existing Singapore Monetary Authority
regulations.
Examples of compliance measures
that must be conducted by banks include due
diligence on customers, checks on their sources of funds and tracking unusual
money
transfers. ABS said yesterday the risks associated with money laundering and
Singapore's ability to tackle the issue are important to its reputation
as a regional financial hub. 'The reputation is important. We are
all at risk and don't want it to be marred,' said Ms Ong. |
| MAS deputy managing director John
Palmer said in a statement: ' Singapore is a member of the
Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering as well as
a number of other regional bodies dedicated to combating money
laundering and terrorist financing. As a responsible member
of the international community, we are committed to the development,
promotion and implementation of policies to combat money laundering
and terrorist financing.' |
| ABS also announced yesterday that
it is organising the Asia -Pacific Financial Crime Conference
and Exhibition in Singapore - the first public conference on
money laundering to be held in Asia. The event, which will
take place in late September, will host 500 local, regional
and international participants. It will focus on issues from
terrorist financing to bank fraud, and will showcase the educational,
training and technological measures available to help combat
financial crime. |
| Singapore is also active in the international
effort to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.
Singapore is a member of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF),
and is represented by an inter-agency team. As part of this
team, MAS participates in FATF work including the revision
of the FATF 40 Recommendations. Singapore will implement the
revised recommendations soon. Singapore is also a member of
the Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering which encourages
the adoption of international anti-money laundering standards
within Asia Pacific. |
In 2003, the Financial
Sector Assessment Programme (FSAP) team assessed Singapore's
anti-money laundering framework for compliance with the Financial
Action Task Force (FATF) standards for Anti-Money Laundering
and Countering the Financing of Terrorism. They found that
Singapore complied well with most of the FATF standards and
had in place a sound and comprehensive legal, institutional,
policy and supervisory framework for countering money laundering
and the financing of terrorism.
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