Ms Sylvia Lim asked the Minister for Home Affairs what is the extent to which Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) are useful in uncovering suspected money laundering activities.
Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether there are practical disparities between the implementation of AML protocols when executed by officers employed in MAS-regulated financial institutions versus real estate agents regulated by the CEA; and (b) if so, whether there has been consultation between CEA and MAS to harmonise protocols for AML.
Ms He Ting Ru asked the Minister for Home Affairs in the granting of approvals to foreign nationals for the purchase of landed residential property (a) whether the Singapore Land Authority considers the link to money laundering or suspicious financially activity in its assessment; and (b) what are the considerations in being satisfied that the foreign national had made exceptional economic contribution as part of the criteria.
Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether the Ministry provides quantitative guidelines on AML triggers for suspicious real estate transactions for the share of the proportion of payment made in cash; and (b) if not, why not.
Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether the authorities are satisfied with the effectiveness of STRs filed in the past few years; and (b) if not, whether there will be enhancements to improve on the effectiveness of the STR or the early scrutiny of all STRs filed.
Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) in each of the last five years, what proportion of real estate transactions reported to the Suspicious Transaction Reporting Office have been blocked; and (b) whether more can be done to block such transactions in order to better detect and prevent money laundering, terrorism financing and other serious crimes.
Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what forms of background checks are conducted on foreigners and what are the processes that the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) has in place before it grants foreigners the approval to purchase landed residential properties in Sentosa Cove; and (b) whether the SLA will review its processes for conducting such checks.
Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim asked the Minister for Home Affairs with regard to the recent anti-money laundering sting operation, whether there were red flag indicators raised before arrests were made.
Ms Sun Xueling: Many Members have filed queries on the recent anti-money laundering operations conducted by the Police and Singapore’s anti-money laundering framework. The queries cover a wide range of issues across several Ministries. Several Members have also filed related queries for the Sittings on or after 19 September.
Mr Speaker, with your permission, the Ministry of Home Affairs, together with various other Ministries, will respond to the queries comprehensively in a Ministerial Statement in October. [Please refer to “Singapore’s Anti-Money Laundering Regime”, Official Report, 3 October 2023, Vol 95, Issue 113, Ministerial Statements section.]
Ministry of Home Affairs
18 September 2023
https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/#/sprs3topic?reportid=oral-answer-3322
Office of the Leader of the Opposition 