A two-pronged approach would be the best way for Singaporean firms to avoid implicating themselves in sanctioned transactions according to head of financial crime compliance at HSBC Singapore, Jamil Ahmed.

Writing for Regulation Asia, he says firms should recognise and respond to sanctioned transaction risks by reassessing procedures, controls and most importantly, using appropriate technologies to make sure that the risks are addressed.

At the same time there is a need for greater collaboration between financial institutions, insurance companies and the maritime sector to improve information sharing, detection capabilities and collectively promote technological solutions to help mitigate sanctions risks. 

Procedures, controls and technology

Ahmed says that as bad actors develop ever more sophisticated techniques for evading sanctions, so must firms in Singapore do the same to be better prepared to tackle new risks.

“In today’s world, intelligence is the bedrock by which we build almost every system,” he says, adding that by obtaining more data feeds and using data analytics to generate intelligence, it is possible to better identify suspicious activity and circumvent lapses.

Collaboration needed

Information sharing is a feature of many public-private partnerships that aim to improve financial crime risk detection and mitigation.

But Ahmed says these seldom encompass a broader set of industry or sector players to thematically address risks on a “holistic and end-to-end basis”.

Jamil Ahmed’s article, Singapore’s Financial Industry’s Role in Preventing Sanctions Evasion, can be found here.

Categories: Trade Based Financial crimes News

Tags: financial crime risk, financial institutions, HSBC, insurance companies, maritime sector, Sanctions, Singapore, technology