The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has enforced $7.88 million in financial penalties and compositions, of which $7.1 million were related to AML/CFT breaches, over its reporting period of Jan 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023. AML/CFT stands for anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing.
This is part of the MAS’s fourth enforcement report released on Sept 19, which details enforcement actions taken against financial institutions (FI) and individuals for market abuse, financial services misconduct and money laundering related offences. The report is published every 18 months.
Of which, the regulator made 39 criminal convictions of individuals involved in market misconduct and related offences; a result of joint investigations with the Singapore Police Force’s Commercial Affairs Department (CAD). It also issued 18 prohibition orders against unfit representatives.
In addition, $12.96 million in civil penalties were imposed on two individuals for false trading and one individual for insider trading, as well as one entity for disclosure-related breaches.
Several high-profile cases fall under this period of investigation by the MAS. These include the investigation of four financial institutions in relation to their dealings with Wirecard-linked persons, Noble Group Limited, and Three Arrows Capital.
MAS has imposed a civil penalty of $12.6 million on Noble Group for publishing misleading information in its financial statements, in breach of the Securities and Futures Act (SFA) in August 2022.
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It also reprimanded Three Arrows Capital for “providing false information to MAS and exceeding the assets under management (AUM) threshold allowed for a registered fund management company (RFMC)”, back in June 2022. Just last week, the MAS imposed a nine-year ban on each of the two co-founders of Three Arrows Capital.
The MAS says that its enforcement priorities for 2023 and 2024 will include the enhancement of its capabilities to tackle misconduct in the digital asset ecosystem. This would mean working with foreign regulators and law enforcement agencies to obtain and share information on errant entities and individuals.
It will also continue to focus on asset and wealth managers’ compliance with the relevant laws and regulations, “particularly business conduct and anti-ML and countering the financing of terrorism requirements”, and holding senior management accountable for their FI’s lapses where appropriate.
“MAS has taken strong enforcement actions and deepened relationships with our partners to uphold the integrity and reputation of Singapore as a trusted financial centre. Even as the novelty and complexity of our cases increase, we will continue to administer an effective and fair enforcement regime in order to deter misconduct, protect consumers and maintain investor confidence,” says Peggy Pao, executive director (enforcement), MAS.
