New Bill Introduces Amendments to AML/CFT Regime

On 2 July 2024, the Anti-Money Laundering and Other Matters Bill (“Bill”) was introduced for its first reading in Parliament. The Bill aims to:

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• Enhance the ability of law enforcement agencies (LEAs) to pursue and prosecute money laundering (ML) offences.
• Clarify and improve processes for dealing with seized or restrained properties linked to suspected criminal activities.
• Align the anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) framework for casino operators with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards.

On the same day, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued a press release explaining the changes that the Bill will introduce.

• Enhance the ability of law enforcement agencies (LEAs) to pursue and prosecute money laundering (ML) offences.
• Amend the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992 (CDSA) to facilitate the prosecution of ML cases arising from criminal conduct abroad.
• Designate serious foreign environmental crimes as ML predicate offences, allowing LEAs to investigate if monies in Singapore are derived from such crimes.
• Enable cross-agency data sharing to enhance the detection of ML, terrorism financing (TF), and proliferation financing (PF).

The amendments will allow various government agencies to share tax and trade data with Singapore’s Financial Intelligence Unit, enhancing the ability to detect and analyze ML, TF, and PF risks.

The Bill introduces provisions to clarify and improve processes for dealing with seized or restrained properties linked to suspected criminal activities. Key points include:

• Sale of Seized Properties: Amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) and the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992 (CDSA) will allow the sale of seized properties under certain conditions, such as depreciation or high maintenance costs, obtaining the consent of all parties, and align with the interest of justice. The amendments will enable law enforcement agencies to lower property maintenance expenses and maintain the value of seized or restrained assets, thereby improving the recovery of assets to victims.

• Properties Linked to Absconded Suspects: The proposed amendments stipulate that if law enforcement agencies (LEAs) request a court to extend the seizure of properties, the court cannot dispose of the properties if investigations into the absconded person are ongoing. The absconded individual must personally appear before the LEA for investigations before claiming the seized assets. These changes aim to prevent the early release of seized properties during investigations and stop absconded persons from avoiding investigations by remaining outside Singapore and successfully reclaiming their assets.

• Casino Regulations: Amendments to the Casino Control Act 2006 will align customer due diligence (CDD) checks with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards. Currently, casino operators must conduct Customer Due Diligence (CDD) checks on patrons involved in single cash transactions of S$10,000 or more, or deposits of S$5,000 or more. The new Bill mandates that casino operators also assess Proliferation Financing (PF) risks during CDD checks. The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Singapore will have the authority to enforce regulations targeting PF. Additionally, the threshold for mandatory CDD checks will be reduced to S$4,000 for cash transactions or deposits.

Source: MHA