Singapore central bank fines DBS, Citibank, OCBC, Swiss Life for inadequate money laundering, terrorism financing protections

[June 21, 2023]  SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore's central bank on Wednesday said it has imposed fines collectively worth S$3.8 million ($2.83 million) on lenders Citibank, DBS and OCBC and insurer Swiss Life, for breaching its requirements on anti-money laundering and countering terrorism financing.   

People use DBS automated teller machines (ATMs) in Singapore March 31, 2022. REUTERS/Caroline Chia/File Photo

The penalties of S$2.6 million ($1.93 million)for DBS, S$600,000 for OCBC, or Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp, S$400,000 for Citibank and S$200,000 for Swiss Life were imposed because the central bank found they had inadequate controls in place to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in a statement said it discovered those breaches when looking into alleged irregularities in financial statements of collapsed payments firm Wirecard and the alleged involvement of Singapore-based individuals.

"Although the breaches were serious, MAS did not find wilful misconduct by any staff of these FIs (financial institutions)," MAS said in a statement.

"The FIs have taken prompt remedial actions to address the deficiencies identified by MAS."

DBS and Swiss Life did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

A spokesperson for OCBC said the Wirecard case involved an intricate web of entities and transactions in multiple jurisdictions and one of its banking customers had been implicated.

"We take such matters seriously. Over the past few years, we have devoted significant resources to a strategic uplift of our anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism standards and capabilities," the spokesperson said.

A spokesperson for Citibank said: "The case dates back to before 2020 and since then we have taken steps to strengthen our 'know your customer' process."

Asked about whether any illicit activities had taken place involving the four institutions, a spokesperson for MAS said its checks were focused on whether they were in compliance with its requirements.

"Whether the funds that flowed into/through the FIs were illicit monies, are under the purview of the Singapore police," the spokesperson said.

(Reporting by Chen Lin, additional reporting by Selina Li and Yantoultra Ngui; Editing by Martin Petty)

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