[Singapore] MAS
Imposes Composition Penalty of S$1 million on Bank J. Safra Sarasin Ltd,
Singapore Branch for AML/CFT Failures
MAS
Enforcement, 14 Apr 2021
The MAS has imposed a composition penalty of
S$1 million on Bank J. Safra Sarasin Ltd, Singapore Branch (BJS) for its
failures to comply with MAS’ Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing
of Terrorism requirements. Between March 2014 to September 2018, BJS committed
serious breaches of MAS’ AML/CFT requirements. These breaches resulted from
material lapses in BJS’s AML/CFT control processes during customer on-boarding
and in the ongoing monitoring of business relations with customers, which had
placed BJS at higher risk of being used as a conduit for illicit activities. BJS
failed to establish the source of wealth and source of funds of customers and
beneficial owners of the customers who presented higher risks of money
laundering and terrorism financing. In many cases, BJS relied on the customers’
representations without obtaining information to corroborate them.
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