1. The Anti-Money Laundering and Other Matters Act (the “Act”) was passed by Parliament on 6 August 2024. The Act seeks to:
(a) Enhance the ability of our Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) to pursue and prosecute money laundering (ML) offences;
(b) Clarify and improve our processes to deal with seized or restrained properties linked to suspected criminal activities; and
(c) Align our Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) framework for casino operators with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards.1
2. The following provisions in the Act will come into effect on 14 November 2024:
Enhance Levers to Prosecute ML Cases Arising From Criminal Conduct Abroad
3. Currently, to prosecute ML offences, the Prosecution needs to show that the monies allegedly laundered in Singapore are proceeds directly linked to specific criminal conduct. In cases where the criminal conduct is committed outside Singapore, the authorities are required to show the complete trail of the monies from the point the crime was committed overseas to the point the monies were deposited with the money launderer.
4. In many cases, LEAs face challenges in obtaining the requisite evidence from foreign victims, entities and authorities. This is especially so if the criminal proceeds had flowed through multiple jurisdictions before entering Singapore.
5. The Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act (CDSA) has thus been amended such that the Prosecution need not show this direct link for certain ML offences. It would suffice for the Prosecution to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the money launderer knew or had reasonable grounds to believe that he was dealing with criminal proceeds. This will facilitate the prosecution of money launderers, such as in cases where the monies laundered were layered through bank accounts or intermediaries in foreign jurisdictions, before entering Singapore.
Designate Foreign Environmental Crimes As ML Predicate Offences
6. Currently, LEAs are only able to investigate ML offences arising from the commission of an offence outside Singapore if the foreign offence is also a serious offence under Singapore’s laws. As environmental offences such as illegal mining, illegal waste trafficking, or illegal logging do not apply in our domestic context, they are not recognised as serious offences in Singapore. This limits our ability to investigate ML associated with such offences.
7. With the Act, a Third Schedule has been introduced to the CDSA, designating foreign serious environmental crimes as ML predicate offences. This will allow LEAs to pursue investigations into ML offences if it is suspected that the monies in Singapore are derived from such crimes committed overseas.
Enable Cross-Agency Data Sharing to Enhance the Detection of ML, Terrorism Financing (TF), and Proliferation Financing (PF)
8. The Act amends the Income Tax Act; the Goods and Services Tax Act; the Regulation of Imports and Exports Act; and the Free Trade Zones Act; to enhance authorities’ ability to detect ML, TF, and PF.2
9. The amendments allow government agencies, namely the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore and Singapore Customs, to share tax data and trade data respectively with Singapore’s Financial Intelligence Unit, the Suspicious Transaction Reporting Office (STRO) of the Singapore Police Force’s Commercial Affairs Department. The CDSA has also been amended to allow AML/CFT regulators, such as the Council for Estate Agencies and the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority, to have access to suspicious transaction reports filed by their respective regulated entities.
10. The sharing of such data will enable STRO to augment its analyses on ML, TF, and PF risks and provide richer intelligence to LEAs and government AML/CFT regulators. Regulators will also have a better overview of the existing and emerging ML, TF, PF risks and trends relating to their sector and be able to take AML/CFT supervisory and regulatory actions earlier and more effectively.
Deal With Seized Properties Linked to Suspects Who Have Absconded
11. In the course of investigations, LEAs may seize properties linked to persons who are suspected of having committed offences under Singapore’s laws and cannot be found despite efforts to reach them. In some cases, the persons may have left Singapore and cannot be extradited, or refuse to return. Investigations can be wilfully stalled by such absconded persons if they decide not to cooperate with investigations.
12. The Act amends the Criminal Procedure Code to tighten how we deal with seized properties linked to absconded persons:
(a) The Court must not dispose of the seized property if it is satisfied that there are ongoing investigations into the absconded person;
(b) An absconded person is required to personally present himself to a law enforcement officer to assist in the investigations, before he can make a claim to the seized properties; and
(c) The Court may consider whether the property was obtained through legitimate sources, such as income or investments, before the seized property may be released to a third party, even if that party has not committed any crimes. That party cannot prove his entitlement to the property simply because it was a gift from the absconded person.
13. Taken together, these amendments enable the Government to better deal with absconded suspects, through depriving them of the financial gains of their ML and other criminal activities, if they refuse to return to Singapore for investigations.
Align AML/CFT Framework for Casino Operators With FATF Standards
14. Through the Act, the Casino Control Act has been amended to tighten the requirements for casino operators to detect and prevent ML/ TF/ PF, in accordance with the FATF standards:
(a) Casino operators will be required to consider PF risks when conducting customer due diligence (CDD) checks, in addition to ML/TF risks. The Gambling Regulatory Authority will also be empowered to issue regulations requiring casino operators to detect or prevent PF; and
(b) Casino operators will also be required to perform CDD checks on patrons for single cash transactions or deposits involving S$4,000 or more. This has been lowered from the previous thresholds of S$10,000 or more for single cash transactions, and S$5,000 or more for deposits.
15. The remaining provisions in the Act will come into force at a later date.
