Singapore seeks documents from banks in money laundering probe

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Singapore authorities have requested documents from at least 10 banks as they extend a S$1bn (US$737mn) money laundering investigation. 

Public prosecutors told a court on Wednesday that they were seeking documents from financial institutions used by 10 people who were arrested last week and charged in one of the city-state’s biggest-ever money laundering and fraud cases.

Prosecutors asked the court to extend the remand for those arrested for a further eight days.

The suspects were detained in an operation that spanned the city-state and led to the seizure of luxury homes, cars, designer handbags and wads of cash and gold bars.

The names of two banks — Citigroup’s Singapore subsidiary and Malaysia’s CIMB — emerged when charges against those arrested were published last week. Other banks have not been named and none of the financial institutions have been charged.

Citibank’s Singapore subsidiary and CIMB did not respond to a request for comment. Singapore police declined to comment on the ongoing investigation.

The investigation of the alleged money laundering ring, which authorities said was still at an early stage, has cast uncomfortable scrutiny on the Asian business hub’s embrace of foreign wealth and put pressure on Singapore’s clean reputation. 

The 10 individuals, who were detained in simultaneous raids involving 400 officers, are suspected of laundering the proceeds of overseas criminal activities, including scams and online gambling, as well as forging documents.

Authorities descended on apartments and mansions and seized assets including wine, jewellery and Bentley and Rolls-Royce cars that were collectively valued at S$1bn. 

The group, which included nationals from China, Cyprus, Turkey and Vanuatu, were all in possession of China-issued passports, according to police.

Singapore’s political opposition has seized on the probe to accuse the government of being too open to foreign money and overseas entities.

“If we provide a warm welcome to very dirty businesses . . . then we can’t expect to escape without a stain on our ‘squeaky clean’ reputation,” said Kenneth Jeyaretnam, secretary-general of the opposition Reform party.

He added that money laundering activity “pushes up asset prices and makes property unaffordable for Singaporeans”, and accused the ruling People’s Action party government of undertaking the probe only foreign pressure, noting that the raid followed a visit by China’s foreign minister Wang Yi days earlier.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore said that suspicious fund flows and other inconsistencies with documentation had prompted banks to alert authorities, which led to the investigation.

“MAS takes this case seriously and has been in touch with the financial institutions where the potentially tainted funds have been identified. Supervisory engagements with these financial institutions are ongoing,” the authority said in a statement last week.

Singapore has welcomed a rapid influx of money and wealthy individuals from China, many of them fleeing President Xi Jinping’s strict coronavirus regime and crackdown on multiple sectors of the economy including real estate and technology.