Singapore’s MAS issues $21M penalty to 9 financial firms amid money laundering probe

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has taken action against some of the nation’s most prominent financial institutions.

MAS has pulled no punches in the regulator’s attempt to stamp out continued breaches of the country’s anti-money laundering regulations. The total in fines comes to S$27.45 million ($21 million) to the financial institutions in their sights.

MAS has imposed composition penalties amounting to S$27.45 million in total on 9 FIs for breaches of MAS’ AML/CFT requirements in relation to the major money laundering case of Aug 2023.https://t.co/JhYyrwkpaA

— MAS (@MAS_sg) July 5, 2025

According to the release by MAS, these companies in question have direct ties to individuals who are of interest in ongoing cases. These persons of interest (POIs) are linked to a money laundering case dating back to August 2023.

MAS also targets the employees of the financial institutions (FIs), who “fell short of MAS’ Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) requirements,” said the statement.

The penalties have been broken down into three groups, consisting of numerous banks, capital market services licence holders, and one licensed trust company that have now “embarked on remediation of the deficiencies and MAS will monitor their progress closely.”

The banks that have been named include:

• Credit Suisse Singapore Branch (CSSB) S$5.8 million
• United Overseas Bank Limited (UOB) S$5.6 million
• UBS AG, Singapore Branch (UBSS) S$3 million
• Citibank N.A. Singapore (CNAS) and Citibank Singapore Limited (CSL), collectively “Citi” S$2.6 million
• Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd., Singapore Branch (BJBS) S$2.4 million
• LGT Bank (Singapore) Ltd. (LGTS) S$1 million

Other services include Capital Market Licence Holders:

• UOB Kay Hian Private Limited (UOBKH) S$2.85 million
• Blue Ocean Invest Pte. Ltd. (BOIPL) S$2.4 million

One Licensed Trust Company named in the investigation was the Trident Trust Company (Singapore) Pte. Limited (TTCSPL), which was fined S$1.8 million.

MAS said on the release of the sizable financial penalties that the regulator “observed that most of the FIs had established AML/CFT policies and controls. The breaches arose out of poor or inconsistent implementation of these policies and controls.”

Singapore also recently took action against the blockchain-based prediction platform Polymarket. We reported that authorities in the state took action to ban the unlicensed site and warned users of the legality of the betting operator.

Featured image: Pexels. 

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