Singapore banks report Indonesians embracing tax amnesty to police

SINGAPORE (Sept 15): Private banks in Singapore are sharing with local police the names of clients embracing an Indonesian tax amnesty, people aware of the matter said, a move that could undermine the amnesty and damage the banks' business with their biggest client pool.

Singapore's Commercial Affairs Department (CAD), a police unit that deals with financial crime, told banks last year they must file a report whenever a client takes part in a tax amnesty scheme, the sources told Reuters.

After initial resistance from the banks, worried they might lose clients, that message was reinforced this year by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the country's central bank, when Indonesia launched a tax amnesty aimed at wooing back some of the cash its wealthy citizens have stashed in Singapore, the sources said.

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