25 May 2016
The Monetary Authority of Singapore said it has withdrawn the merchant bank license of Swiss-based BSI Bank and ordered it to shut down its operations for serious breaches of anti-money laundering requirements and other lapses.
In a statement the MAS said it had referred six current and former members of BSI’s senior management and staff to the public prosecutor to assess if criminal charges were warranted.
“This is the first time that MAS has withdrawn the approval for a merchant bank since Jardine Fleming (Singapore) Pte Ltd in 1984, following serious lapses,” the MAS said, according to Reuters, Tuesday (05/24/2016).
Investigations in Switzerland and Singapore into 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) have focused on alleged fraud and misappropriation of funds from the state investment company, which critics say were used to benefit politically connected individuals, and possible money laundering.
The 1MDB investigations have shone an unwelcome spotlight on Singapore, which has been trying to clean up its image on anti-money laundering issues.
“The BSI case represents the most serious case of control failures and breaches of AML (anti-money laundering) requirements that has come to the attention of the Singapore financial sector,” Ravi Menon, the MAS’s managing director, told reporters, according to Reuters, Tuesday (05/24/2016).
In a statement, BSI said its Chief Executive Stefano Coduri would step down. The MAS said it had ordered the bank to take steps to strengthen its management, including bringing in a new head of risk and appointing a new compliance officer.
Swiss authorities said in February that a criminal investigation into 1MDB had uncovered misappropriation of about $4 billion from the Malaysian fund.
© Inacom. All Rights Reserved.
EN
