Singapore (Commonwealth) _ In one of the city-state’s largest money laundering investigations, Singaporean officials seized or frozen assets worth more than S$2.8 billion ($2 billion), a senior official revealed on Tuesday, hinting the government may tighten immigration laws to stop illicit inflows.
Second Minister for Home Affairs Josephine Teo provided more information to the legislature than the S$2.4 billion that had been previously announced.
Authorities are still questioning both foreigners and Singaporeans as part of the ongoing investigation, she said. Although Teo, who also serves as the minister of communications and information, noted that “no screening process is fool-proof,” the city-state will examine how to tighten its immigration verification processes.
“Singapore takes money laundering seriously,” Teo added. Once we become aware of any risks, we do not ignore them. We have taken significant enforcement action against money laundering charges before. It won’t be the last either.
Singapore has long used its image for ethical leadership and a zero-tolerance policy toward crime to entice wealthy international investors. That has come under scrutiny after the authorities seized property and detained 10 foreigners, all of whom were born in China, on suspicion of forgery and laundering money obtained through fraud and unlawful internet gambling.
Working with foreign partners, the island government will punish individuals who have disobeyed, according to the spokeswoman.
The case, which broke into the public eye in mid-August, is shedding light on foreign money flows and whether the city-state’s $2 trillion financial industry has done enough to stop questionable transactions. Affluent Asians, notably those from China, have flocked to Singapore in search of secure investments due to economic restrictions and crackdowns on the Chinese mainland.
The administration was previously asked to respond to dozens of questions from lawmakers, including those about the need to tighten the current money-laundering laws, additional measures to stop cross-border crimes, and immigration checks.
According to her, from 2020 to 2022, at least 240 people were found guilty of money laundering violations, and the police seized assets worth more than S$1.2 billion.
Boston Consulting Group estimated that $1.5 trillion worth of cross-border wealth entered Singapore last year. The nation is now the third-largest offshore financial center in the world, behind Hong Kong and Switzerland, where the wealthy keep their assets.
According to the authorities, other operations last month resulted in the confiscation of cryptocurrency worth more than S$38 million and bank accounts worth more than S$1.13 billion. Additionally, more than 110 houses and 62 cars worth more than S$1.24 billion have been ordered not to be sold by the police.
Banks in the affluent island nation are scrutinizing some Chinese-born customers with different citizenships more closely.
According to Bloomberg, several lenders have started scrutinizing new account openings and transactions involving individuals of Chinese descent who have passports tied to investments. Some accounts belonging to customers with citizenship from countries like Cambodia, Cyprus, Turkey, and Vanuatu are being closed by at least one international bank.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is shivering in the eye of the storm as rough political seas have swept the shores of sunny Singapore over the past month.
Lee, the 71-year-old son of Singapore’s late founding father Lee Kuan Yew, whose People’s Action Party (PAP) has ruled the island nation since even before it gained independence in 1965, addressed a number of scandals that have rocked the city-state in recent weeks and threatened to undermine public trust in a government that has built a reputation for moral and effective governance in front of parliament on Wednesday.
