Thursday, July 21, 2016

1MDB scandal: Singapore uncovers lapses at DBS, UBS, Standard Chartered

DBS, UBS and Standard Chartered have become embroiled in the scandal surrounding 1MDB, with Singapore's central bank saying it had found lapses and weaknesses related to the beleaguered Malaysian wealth fund.


The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said on Thursday that it found "lapses and weaknesses" in anti-money-laundering controls at the banks' Singapore operations and that it would be taking actions against them.

The preliminary investigation found "extensive layers of transactions and subterfuge aimed at disguising the nature of certain activities and fund flows," with shell companies in various jurisdictions used to conceal the funds' true beneficiaries.

In May, the MAS also completed a related investigation of BSI Singapore, which resulted in a decision to shut down that private bank, calling it at the time "the worst case of control lapses and gross misconduct that we have seen in the Singapore financial sector."

The MAS said the deficiencies at the three banks were related to lapses in specific processes and by individual officers, which would be met by "firm regulatory action," but the central bank added that the inspections didn't find pervasive weakness or staff misconduct, unlike at BSI Bank. 

Read more on CNBC

Related news :

1MDB scandal: 'Will the real Malaysian Official 1 please stand up?'

1MDB: Malaysia 'will co-operate' with US investigation

U.S. Maps 1MDB Fraud Trail From Kuala Lumpur to Hollywood


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