Singapore Penalizes Wirecard Banks For AML Violations
Singapore’s central bank, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), has fined three banks and an insurer a combined S$3.8 million (US$2.8 million) for breaches of anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CFT) requirements linked to the Wirecard scandal.
The four financial institutions — Citibank, DBS Bank, OCBC Bank, and Swiss Life — were found to have inadequate controls in place when they dealt with people involved in transactions with, or had links to, Wirecard or its related parties.
MAS said it did not find wilful misconduct by any staff at the four companies, which have all taken action to improve their operations and have all accepted the penalties.
The fines come as part of MAS’s ongoing investigation into the Wirecard scandal, which saw the German payments company collapse in 2020 after it was revealed that billions of euros in cash had gone missing.
Earlier this week, two former Wirecard employees were given prison terms in Singapore for their roles in conspiring to misappropriate money.
James Aga Wardhana was sentenced to 21 months and Chai Ai Lim to 10 months by a Singapore state court.
Former Wirecard boss Marcus Braun is currently on trial in Germany, facing charges of fraud, misappropriation of corporate assets, accounting fraud, and market manipulation. He has pleaded not guilty.
The Wirecard scandal has had a significant impact on Singapore’s financial sector, and the MAS’s fines are a sign that the authorities are taking the issue seriously.
The fines are also a reminder of the importance of AML and CFT compliance for financial institutions. By failing to have adequate controls in place, these four institutions exposed themselves to the risk of being used to launder money or finance terrorism.
The Wirecard scandal is a reminder that the fight against financial crime is never-ending. Financial institutions need to be constantly vigilant and to have robust AML and CFT controls in place to protect themselves from being used by criminals.
