Some $416 million have been returned to victims, while $1 billion have been forfeited to the State.
SINGAPORE - Anti-money laundering efforts in Singapore saw the authorities seize $6 billion linked to criminal and money-laundering activities between January 2019 and June 2024.A large bulk of the remaining sum is linked to ongoing investigations or court proceedings, according to details published in Singapore’s first-ever National Asset Recovery Strategy.
“No country can address these threats by itself. That is why the FATF’s work in leading a coordinated global effort has become more important,” he added. “A very small fraction of these criminal assets is intercepted and recovered, which means that criminals can largely get away with, and profit handsomely from their crimes,” he added.
“Over the past few years, we have tightened our regulations to increase transparency on beneficial ownership; introduced new regulations; and strengthened existing laws to address risks related to virtual assets, as well as precious stones and metals dealers. The CPC empowers authorities to order any individual or entity to produce information, documents, or items for criminal investigations.
PM Wong said even the most stringent anti-money laundering regimes can be circumvented by determined criminals, who will continuously search for gaps to exploit. The recovery strategy comprises four pillars - detecting suspicious or criminal activities; depriving criminals of the ill-gotten gains; delivering maximum recovery of the assets; and deterring criminals from using Singapore to hide, move, or use their illicit assets.
The agencies noted that the STRO played a key role in helping to uncover the nation’s largest money-laundering network. Between March 2024 and April 2024, the office - in collaboration with partnering banks - sent out more than 16,700 SMS alerts to more than 12,500 scam victims.
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