Mr Pritam Singh (Aljunied): Thank you, Mr Speaker. Just a question for the Minister of State. Lately, over the last two years, in particular, there has been a term that is floating in the media lexicon – “Singapore-washing”.
Can I confirm whether the IMC will also be looking at the various permutations and aspects of some of the claims made by individuals and media organisations worldwide about how Singapore is potentially used as a conduit for such money laundering?
Ms Sun Xueling: I thank the Member for his question. Indeed, the IMC is undertaking rigorous work to ensure that corporate structures in Singapore are not being abused by money launderers.
Secondly, we are also working closely with our financial institutions to make sure that they enhance their controls, they do their due diligence on their customers’ backgrounds to be able to identify the sources of their funds.
I also earlier mentioned other gatekeepers in the system, such as real estate agents, lawyers, precious stones and metals’ dealers and corporate service providers.
All these actions would help us better guard against potential money launderers trying to launder their monies through Singapore’s ecosystem.
Ministry of Home Affairs
2 July 2024
https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/#/sprs3topic?reportid=oral-answer-3602
Office of the Leader of the Opposition 