Season 9, Episode 7: Singapore police unveils S$2.8 billion biggest money laundering ring

Singaporean police conducted a nationwide raid (http://go-ri.tr.com/7Nm3aO) and arrested 10 ethnic-Chinese businessmen on Aug. 15. The police seized more than S$2.8 billion, making it one of the world's biggest money laundering cases (https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/assets-seized-singapore-money-laundering-case-now-2-bln-minister-2023-10-03/). In this episode, Nathan Lynch, Asia managing editor, and Yixiang Zeng, reporter in Singapore, discuss how the case began back in 2021 when the authorities were alerted by banks via suspicious transaction reports (http://go-ri.tr.com/0Aeefi) and then the police started investigating these alerts.This case is also part of a broader campaign by Asian governments to counter a huge surge in money laundering linked to organised crime. Against this backdrop, the Singaporean government is setting up an inter-ministerial committee (http://go-ri.tr.com/K6Q9E8), which will help revamp the country's financial system and strengthen its anti-money laundering regime.The Compliance Clarified podcast series covers a wide range of topics which affect compliance officers at financial institutions and aims to help them navigate the often-challenging regulatory environment. It considers the big challenges of the day and offers practical ideas for emerging best practices.Programme notesSingapore says $2 billion in assets seized in money laundering case (Reuters): https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/assets-seized-singapore-money-laundering-case-now-2-bln-minister-2023-10-03/#:~:text=Simultaneous%20raids%20in%20mid%2DAugust,jewellery%20worth%20S%241%20billion.Suspects back in court over Singapore's swoop on major money laundering ring (Reuters): https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/suspects-back-court-over-singapores-swoop-major-money-laundering-ring-2023-08-30/Bungalows, cars seized in Singapore's billion-dollar swoop on money laundering (Reuters): https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/bungalows-cars-seized-singapores-billion-dollar-swoop-money-laundering-2023-08-17/MAS will not tolerate the abuse of our financial system for illicit activities (MAS press release): https://www.mas.gov.sg/news/media-releases/2023/mas-will-not-tolerate-the-abuse-of-our-financial-system-for-illicit-activities Compliance Clarified is a podcast from Thomson Reuters Regulatory Intelligence.Listen to wide-ranging, insightful discussions on all things compliance for financial services firms. We delve into the hot topics of the day, the challenges faced and offer up practical ideas for emerging good practice. We de-mystify regulation and explore the art, as well as the science, of the ever-expanding role of the compliance officer.  Enforcements, digital transformation, regulatory change, governance, culture, conduct risk – anything and everything impacting the compliance function is up for discussion.