Singapore has seen a surge in applications for tax incentive schemes in recent years, which has led to a backlog and long wait times for approval. By the start of 2025, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) aims to shorten this wait time to three months.
In response to questions from The Edge Singapore, Leong Sing Chiong, deputy mananging director of MAS’s markets and development group, says the relevant teams are puting in place “various measures” to clear the backlog by end-2024, and the wait time “should normalise” thereafter to three months per application.
This comes after a police operation in August 2023 uncovered a multi-billion-dollar money laundering case in Singapore. The last of 10 offenders was sentenced to jail in June.
“The money laundering case of the past year has not changed our growth trajectory, nor our position on regulatory standards,” says MAS managing director Chia Der Jiun on July 18.
Speaking at the release of the central bank and regulator’s annual report for the financial year ended March 31, Chia says Singapore continues to welcome “legitimate wealth” and will ensure that the processes and regime are supportive, while upholding “high regulatory standards”. “High standards of regulation have, and will continue to be, key to the success of the wealth management sector.”
See also: MAS swings back from two years of losses with $3.8 bil net profit in FY2023/24
Chia, who took over from former MAS managing director Ravi Menon on Jan 1, says the money laundering case underscores the need for continued vigilance by banks and other intermediaries. “Singapore, as an international financial centre, is an attractive location to both legitimate wealth and money launderers.”
Financial institutions that were involved in the case may soon face punitive measures. “Clearly too, there were financial institutions with material nexus to this case,” says Chia. “Our supervisory engagements with these financial institutions are mostly completed. We are currently reviewing our findings, to determine the appropriate supervisory actions.”
While Singapore has a “high standard” of anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) requirements, Chia notes that implementation and practices may vary across financial institutions.
See also: Hong Kong a ‘global leader’ in financial crime, US lawmakers say
Hence, Chia calls for a “clearer waterline” of practices across the industry, rather than a tightening of standards and requirements. “We plan to engage industry to clarify our supervisory expectations and help industry implement our AML requirements more evenly across the sector. We also support and welcome ongoing work by industry to develop best practices.”
Read more about MAS's annual report for FY2023/24:
- MAS swings back from two years of losses with $3.8 bil net profit in FY2023/24
- MAS announces additional $100 mil funding for FIs pursuing AI, quantum projects
- S'pore's net AUM inflows falls to $193 bil in 2023, but AUM grows to $5.4 tril
- Total debt issued in S’pore grows 10.5% y-o-y to $556 bil in 2023 from multinationals’ financing needs
- S’pore growth ‘should strengthen this year’: MAS
Photo: Monetary Authority of Singapore
