TechFlow, on July 6, according to CoinDesk, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) recently announced fines totaling 27.5 million Singapore dollars (approximately 21.5 million U.S. dollars) against nine financial institutions, including UBS and Citigroup, marking the conclusion of the country's largest money laundering investigation in history.
According to Bloomberg, Credit Suisse's Singapore branch, now integrated into UBS, faces the highest penalty of 5.8 million Singapore dollars due to gaps in anti-money laundering (AML) controls. Citigroup’s Singapore operations were also fined for compliance failures.
The two-year investigation, which began in 2023, involved money laundering activities amounting to as much as 2.2 billion U.S. dollars. Ten Chinese nationals known as the "Fujian Gang" have been convicted in the case, and two former bankers were prosecuted last year for their involvement.
Law enforcement authorities seized substantial assets during the investigation, including cash, luxury real estate, high-end goods, and cryptocurrency. The Monetary Authority of Singapore stated that the implicated financial institutions are implementing remedial measures, and regulators will closely monitor their progress in addressing deficiencies.
