Singapore has said it adopts a “whole-of-government approach” to combat money laundering and terrorism financing. This is currently led by a high-level steering committee comprising top officials from the Home Affairs Ministry, Finance Ministry and the MAS.

Ms Indranee said this inter-agency steering committee will continue to oversee “whole-of-government” efforts, while the newly-announced inter-ministerial committee will look at reviewing the system “with the benefit” of what is being learned from the billion-dollar money laundering case and keep Singapore’s regime up-to-date.

“Where gaps are identified, we will tighten our regulations and enforcement to prevent exploitation by criminals. The committee will share its progress and findings in due time,” she said.

The minister added that Singapore is determined to preserve its hard-earned reputation as a clean and trusted business hub.

“We will continue to hold our zero-tolerance approach towards money laundering, and do our best to ensure a strong and robust regulatory regime,” Ms Indranee told the House.

ACRA TO PROPOSE ADDITIONAL RULES 

Already, stricter rules are being considered by the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) in the areas of professionals and firms that help businesses with corporate filings, as well as directorships.

Currently, non-residents looking to set up companies in Singapore must engage ACRA-authorised corporate service providers, also known as registered filing agents, to incorporate a company. 

Such agents are required to conduct customer due diligence and inquire into the purpose and legitimacy of a company structure, among others. They provide “another layer of scrutiny, which is particularly useful for foreign-owned or controlled companies”, said Ms Indranee.

Last year, ACRA launched a public consultation to propose increasing the penalties on errant agents with the aim of strengthening the effectiveness of Singapore’s anti-money laundering regime.

It also proposed a new Corporate Service Provider Bill that will require all entities or people providing corporate secretarial services in and from Singapore to register with ACRA.

Also on ACRA’s wishlist is a requirement for corporate service providers to ensure that individuals they appoint to act as nominee directors are fit and proper, and satisfy certain training requirements if they hold more than a legally prescribed number of nominee directorships.