IN THE AFTERMATH OF A SUCCESSFUL TWO BILLION DOLLAR MONEY LAUNDERING OPERATION, SINGAPORE'S ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING UNIT REMINDS THE COUNTRY'S FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS ABOUT SOURCE OF WEALTH BASICS

After enduring what has now become a global scandal, Singapore finds itself in repair mode, as its competitors in the offshore arena are most certainly taking advantage of its abject failure to detect, and interdict, the massive Chinese money laundering operation whilst it was in progress. How much international financial business it loses we cannot say, but we do note an important new step the government has taken to mitigate future money laundering schemes.

We have previously reported on increased attention being paid to the improper acceptance of passports from low-risk jurisdictions, after Singapore's compliance officers freely accepted fraudulent St. Kitts CBI passports as identity from Chinese nationals, who reportedly did not speak any English whatsoever, in a clear case of compliance malpractice. Readers who are not familiar with the dangers that such passports present are urged to read our prior articles regarding the subject. as well as the American litigation in progress.

The country's Money Laundering Department, part of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, has released to its banks a detailed Circular explaining the basics of Source of Wealth. Frankly, there should not be any need to explain to the financial institutions the nuts & bolts of SOW due diligence, but it is welcomed nevertheless. Let us hope that there will be no further invasion of the country's financial structure by money launderers for Chinese illegal gaming entities, proffering passports known to be suspect, due to the circumstances surrounding their illegal acquisition, and containing aliases. Any compliance officer who now unquestionably accepts St. Kitts passports should be terminated for malpractice.

Our thanks to Linkedin member Ajay Shamdasani for bringing the matter to our attention.