The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has fined banks DBS, OCBC, Citibank and insurer Swiss Life a total of S$3.8 million (US$2.83 million) for breaching its requirements on anti-money laundering and countering terrorism financing.
The breaches were identified when MAS examined the financial institutions following news of irregularities relating to Wirecard AG’s financial statements and the alleged involvement of Singapore-based individuals and entities.
The financial institutions were found to have inadequate money laundering and terrorism financing controls when they dealt with people who were “involved in transactions with, or had links to, Wirecard AG or its related parties”.
MAS issued fines of S$2.6 million for DBS, S$600,000 for OCBC, S$400,000 for Citibank, and S$200,000 for Swiss Life.
All four financial institutions have accepted the penalties, said the authority.
“Although the breaches were serious, MAS did not find wilful misconduct by any staff of these financial institutions,” said the central bank.
The Wirecard scandal broke three years ago after its auditor could not verify €1.9 billion (US$2.07 billion) supposedly held abroad in escrow by third-party partners and subsequently refused to sign off on 2019 accounts.
