Singapore restoring reputation dented by 1MDB scandal, says MAS MD Menon

SINGAPORE (July 3): Ravi Menon, managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, figures that the enforcement action taken against the banks and individuals found to have been involved in the international money laundering scandal surrounding 1Malaysia Development Bhd has helped restore Singapore’s reputation as a global financial centre.

“I believe we have begun the process of restoring that reputation. We have taken tough and unprecedented enforcement actions and sent an unequivocal message that MAS will not tolerate the criminal abuse of Singapore’s financial system,” Menon said on June 29 at a media briefing to present the de facto central bank’s FY2017 annual report.

On May 30, MAS announced the conclusion of the two-year-long investigation into the 1MDB case. It noted that a total of eight banks were made to pay fines totalling $29.1 million. Two of these banks — BSI and Falcon Bank — were also ordered to close their operations in Singapore. A number of individuals involved have also been fined, jailed and hit with prohibition orders, which essentially bar them from working in the financial services sector for a period of time.

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