The probe into Singapore’s headline money laundering scandal was commenced due to suspicious transaction reports filed, not at the request of the Chinese government, according to an official from the city-state.
On August 16, police arrested 10 foreigners believed to have been originating from China over alleged money laundering and other violations. And less than a week before that, China foreign minister Wang Yi paid a visit to the city-state on August 10, leading some to speculate about linkages between the two events.
«We started the investigations because we had reason to believe that these people had committed offenses in Singapore. We didn’t start the investigations at the request of some foreign country or party or because of external pressure,» said Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam in an interview with Chinese newspaper Lianhe Zaobao.
Not so Fast
According to Shanmugam, there is no possibility that such an investigation could be conducted in a matter of days and weeks, adding that it had been going on for months.
«Just because a country says arrest so-and-so doesn’t mean we go and arrest. It’s got to be illegal in Singapore. We need to be satisfied and we need to know that things have happened which are contrary to our laws, then we will take action – regardless of what others say,» he said.
In total, police have seized S$1.8 billion ($1.3 billion) in assets in the ongoing scandal. Thus far, it has been unveiled that the 10 alleged money launderers had reportedly used the following banks in some form: Julius Baer, Credit Suisse, RHB Bank, UOB, Bank of Singapore, CIMB, Citi, DBS and Deutsche Bank.
