Singapore’s home affairs ministry said that the city-state is planning to enforce initiatives that help the law enforcement prosecute money laundering offences in the city-state. The authorities said that currently certain cases are not pursued till it becomes possible to show the entire money trail of funds under suspicion from money laundering entering the Asian financial hub.
The latest Anti-Money Laundering and Other Matters Bill was introduced in the Parliament on Tuesday, the ministry said via an official release. The bill will eradicate the need for the prosecution to provide a direct link between the criminal conduct and the funds under money laundering, reported Reuters.
The ministry said, “It will be sufficient for the prosecution to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the money launderer knew or had reasonable grounds to believe that he was dealing with criminal proceeds.”
Singapore last year raided a $2.24 billion money laundering ring operated by foreign citizens and the last 10 offenders were sentenced on June 10, 2024.
The ministry said that this bill would help in prosecuting money mules. Further, the bill would allow legal authorities to investigate money laundering offences related to global environmental crimes.
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Currently, Singapore is not permitted to investigate money laundering related to crimes like illegal waste trafficking, illegal logging, and illegal mining that happen at the global level. The city-state doesn’t prosecute these crimes as they are not included in serious offences under Singapore law.
The bill also allows law enforcement to sell restrained properties and deal with such properties linked to suspects much more smoothly. The ministry said that it will enforce stricter norms for casino operators to do their due diligence for customers, lowering the limit of a single cash transaction including S$10,000 or more or S$5,000 or more in a deposit to transactions and deposits including at least S$4,000.