Mrs. Teo pointed out that one concern raised by Members was whether Singapore collaborates with foreign governments to evaluate the data submitted by candidates for immigration passes.
She claimed that where the companies have suspicions, they act accordingly, but given the volume of software, check checks cannot be done on every application.
No screening procedure is foolproof, she continued, adding that the government and nbsp may look into how to stretch verification checks at various locations.
” We should be reasonable at the same time.” The majority of people are no thieves or improper income launderers. The vast majority of stupid applicants will be excessively penalized if we make the rules very strict. The thieves may continue to look for a way to get around the laws, she said.
” Our job is to reduce the risks and improve our ability to apprehend these people without interfering with the majority of right, legal deals.”
All 10 of the accused have been denied bail, according to the prosecution, who claimed that the suspects have higher trip risks and might conspire to taint evidence.
The total value of the assets seized or issued by the authorities with the prohibition of disposition orders now exceeds S$ 2.8 billion( US$ 2.04 billion ), according to Mrs. Teo, who also updated congress on the most recent case information.
Before the law updated on September 20 that the number had increased to more than S$ 2.4 billion, this was almost three times the Entropy$ 1 billion they had announced when the situation first broke in August. In addition, & nbsp,
MORE Prone FINANCIAL HUBS TO MONEY LAUNDERING
Mrs. Teo even argued on Tuesday that Singapore’s reputation as a significant financial hub makes it an appealing target for money launderers.
The finance industry is a significant one in Singapore because it employs about 200, 000 people and makes up about 14 % of the country’s economy. & nbsp,
Criminals will attempt to take advantage of the same financial flexibility and our solid reputation for the rule of law when we open for business, she said, in order to wash their illicit funds and give the appearance of validity.
She observed that Singapore handles enormous amounts of trades each day, and that this enormous volume offers” simple disguise” for illegal activities. & nbsp,
She described how frequently suspicious transactions are reported these as a result: from 2020 to 2022, the Singapore Police Force’s Suspicious Transaction Reporting Office received an average of 43, 000 suspicious transaction reports per year, or more than 150 per working day.
80 % of these studies were submitted by financial institutions.
With least 240 people were found guilty of money laundering offenses during that time, most of which were related to local fraud return, and about S$ 1.2 billion worth of assets were seized.
Not only Singapore, but all significant financial centers are actually vulnerable, according to Mrs. Teo. They are a destination for money laundering because of the same qualities that make them interesting as financial centres.