Singapore has imposed a collective penalty on several banks and wealth managers, including UBS, Citi, and Julius Baer, relating to a money laundering case that affected the region’s reputation.
Singapore enforced a collective penalty of USD 21.5 million collective penalty on nine financial institutions, the largest figure to date since penalties in the 1MDB case, over what regulators called inconsistent implementation of controls. At that time, the case negatively affected Singapore’s ambitions to solidify its position as a wealth management hub and underlined the challenges of opening up to foreign wealth while implementing strict anti-money laundering (AML) rules.
According to officials from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, similar to other major international financial centres, Singapore is highly exposed to money laundering risks. The regulator plans to closely collaborate with financial institutions to promote more consistent implementation of AML measures. Additionally, MAS intends to take firm action against serious failings by financial institutions and their employees.
In its report regarding the nine banks and wealth managers, MAS underlined that it discovered deficiencies in how financial institutions conducted money laundering risk assessments for new clients, how they corroborated clients’ source of wealth, and how they managed transactions flagged as suspicious by their systems.
Furthermore, Credit Suisse, which has been acquired by UBS, faced the largest single penalty, at USD 4.53 million, while UBS was hit with a USD 2.34 million fine and Citi with a USD 2.03 million one.
Recent news from MAS
Back in March 2025, Singapore and Vietnam extended their partnership in finance and digital assets, with the agreement being finalised during an official visit by Vietnam’s General Secretary of the Communist Party to Singapore. MAS and the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) expanded their Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on financial innovation. The updated MoU scaled the scope of the collaboration in digital innovation projects, supported fintech development, and improved payment connectivity between the two nations.
