.jpg)
The single-family offices connected to Singapore”s S$3 billion money laundering saga were not identified by name.
Six Singapore-based single-family offices’ funds are linked to
people convicted in relation to the city-state’s largest ever
money laundering case, or linked to their spouses.
The jurisdiction is seeking to learn from the case, which has
generated a number of damaging headlines. For example, a group of
criminals from China laundered more than S$3 billion ($2.23
billion).
They laundered proceeds from online gambling passed through at
least 16 financial institutions in Singapore.
Responding to a question in parliament, Gan Kim Yong, deputy
prime minister and minister for trade and industry, and chairman
of the Monetary
Authority of Singapore, said: “A total of six single family
office (SFO) funds which were awarded SFO [single-family office]
tax incentives have been identified to be linked to individuals
who have been convicted in relation to the money laundering case
or their spouses.”
The SFOs were not identified by name in the statement, which was
issued last week.
“Tax benefits were withdrawn starting from the financial year the
owners of these SFO funds or their spouses were charged or
convicted. Tax benefits accorded prior to that will not be clawed
back, unless there were breaches of the conditions of the tax
incentive awards then,” the statement continued.
The minister said that as part of enforcement actions in the
case, assets have been forfeited from the convicted individuals.
The total value of assets forfeited from convicted individuals
with links to SFO funds that were awarded tax incentives far
exceeds any tax benefits accorded to the SFO funds, the minister
added.
In a report on 11 June, Citigroup, DBS and other banks caught up
in a major money laundering case in Singapore are
tightening scrutiny of their wealthy customers and
potential clients. Private bankers at several institutions are
also receiving additional training to help them spot tricks used
by criminals to mask their backgrounds and sources of funds.
This isn’t the first time Singapore – along with other hubs such
as Switzerland and the US – have been hit by money laundering
scandals. Just under a decade ago, the wealth sector witnessed
the multi-billion saga of funds that were siphoned off from the
1MDB fund created by the Malaysian government. Banks in
Singapore were among those affected.
MAS recently
unveiled a report examining the main sources of
vulnerability in the jurisdiction’s financial system.
