Amid reports that banks in the two financial hubs processed billions of dollars in potentially suspicious transactions that were flagged to U.S. authorities, regulators said they have effective anti-money laundering frameworks in place.
«Singapore’s regulatory framework to combat money laundering meets international standards set by the Financial Action Task Force,» a Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) spokesperson told «CNA.»
According to a report by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), known as the «FinCEN Files» Singapore received some $3 billion and sent $1.5 billion between 2000 and 2017 across some 1,781 transactions that were flagged as potentially suspicious. DBS Bank, CIMB Bank and Deutsche Bank were among those that processed the largest sums of such funds in Singapore, with UOB and OCBC also named.
MAS said it was «closely studying» the media reports and that it would take «appropriate action» based on the outcome of its review.
«Effective Supervision» in Hong Kong
A Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) spokesperson told «Reuters» that its «risk-based AML/CFT supervision is assessed by the international standard setter, Financial Action Task Force, as effective and in line with international standards.»
HSBC and Standard Chartered were along the five banks that appeared most often in the suspicious activity reports reviewed by ICIJ, which flagged some $2 trillion worth of transactions between 1999 and 2017.
«The HKMA requires banks to implement effective anti money laundering (AML) and counter financing of terrorist (CFT) systems including detecting and reporting suspicious transactions to law enforcement agencies for investigation,» the spokesperson said.
