SINGAPORE: Some of the customers that real estate agents work with may become representing different individuals.
Consumers may be acting on behalf of the valuable owner , – , the person who finally enjoys the benefits of owning the house, even if it is in another brand.
Real estate agents will soon be made aware that the government needs to track down and evaluate the identities of potential clients.
When conducting buyer due diligence and monitoring existing clients, this condition also applies to estate agencies, developers, lawyers, and law training organizations.
The inter-ministerial council that reviewed Singapore’s anti-money laundering government, which released its record on Friday ( October 4), made comments to clarify the criteria for the real estate and legitimate businesses.
There is a danger of abuse when a customer is not the best beneficial owner of a deal or asset, according to the report. It is already necessary to identify and verify the true owners of businesses.
12 fresh recommendations were made in the report that aimed to successfully enforce money laundering laws as well as preventing and detecting money laundering. They include creating data-sharing programmes between government departments to identify suspicious activity.
The inter-ministerial council, which was set up in late 2023,  , drew lessons from the billion-dollar income fraud case.
The recommendations, according to Second Minister for Finance Ms. Indranee Rajah, were carefully calibrated to enhance Singapore’s defenses while maintaining its economy and minimizing their effects on reputable businesses.
” As you will understand, this is a great balancing act, because for every action and every estimate, there are trade-offs”, she said.
” The program cannot be too weak, but at the same time, it cannot be very strict, because we do not want to restrict true, law-abiding companies. It must be exactly right to help Singapore to have a free and open economy while also being unfriendly to illicit funds.
Over the next few weeks, Ms. Indranee, who is also Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, said that the corrections for the real estate and legitimate businesses are anticipated to be released.
She noted that the legitimate market is familiar with anti-money fraud needs.
The legal field should look into the subject of valuable possession, she said, giving some recommendations on how to go about doing so. She added that this would most likely be done through the Legal Profession Act, requirements, and the Law Society.
More needs to be done, however, to help those in the real estate sector understand the nature of their obligations, and to help them carry out their responsibilities.
” Imagine you’re a real estate person, and you’re trying to get your sale done. It’s very hard to look your client in the eye and say:’ Tell me where your money came from,'” said Ms Indranee.  ,
Agents must be able to respond in a way that makes it clear that the question is a systemic one, that it belongs to a team, and not just a personal one.
HIGH-VALUE GOODS AT RISK?
Banks, casinos, real estate agents and precious stones and precious metals dealers have been identified as “regulated gatekeepers” who can help with detecting money laundering activities.  ,
But what about other, unregulated sectors that may be used by criminals?
The inter-ministerial committee suggested that more education be provided in non-regulated industries, including by involving dealers in high-quality goods.
” We will be engaging the car dealers next week”, said Ms Sun Xueling, Minister of State for Home Affairs.  ,
She claimed that the Ministry of Home Affairs keeps an eye on global trends to see if criminals are laundering money using other expensive items like art works or collectibles.
Then we will focus on these industries and reach out to the dealers in these industries to let them know that this is a risk they should be keeping an eye out for.
She added that everyone is required to report suspicious transactions.
” That is why we are going out to outreach and educate those unregulated sectors,” she said.  ,
It’s difficult to predict what goods will be used, according to Ms. Indranee, but they are typically high-value items that are anticipated to increase in value.
Everyone would have been suspicious of Bearbrick toys five years ago, she said, but cars and property are obvious.
She also responded to a question about the excessive fines in Singapore for money-launderers.