Singapore’s central bank is targeting onshore shell companies involved in money laundering

The Monetary Authority of Singapore has announced it has closed several onshore shell companies’ accounts in the last 12 months in an effort to tackle money laundering.

The head of the central bank’s anti-money laundering department revealed on Monday August 13 that the institution had noted how criminals were moving away from offshore to onshore companies to evade detection. She was speaking with Reuters.

One of the reasons why criminals had targeted Singapore for their illicit transactions was because it is very easy to open a company in the country. This also makes Singapore vulnerable to nefarious uses, according to Reuter’s report on the matter.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore has been looking for red flags like disproportionally large or high velocity transactions and unusual patterns in dealings.

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