Collaboration alongside the use of data analytics and digital processes have led to key successes in Singapore’s anti-money laundering and counter financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) effectiveness according to assistant managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
Loo Siew Yee now wants financial institutions and MAS to continue to “work together and work smarter” in the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing she told delegates on 27th April at the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists’ (ACAMS’) AML and Anti-Financial Crime Conference.
Embedded digitalisation
Data analytics and digital processes have become more embedded in financial institutions and many banks in Singapore have upgraded or are in the midst of upgrading their risk detection and analytics systems according to Loo.
Now she says MAS will be “doubling down” on industry as well as public-private collaboration, powered by data analytics.
TBML prioritised
Trade-based money laundering (TBML), the misuse of shell companies and proliferation financing are priority risk areas for MAS according to Loo.
To facilitate the timelier detection of illicit behaviour in these and other areas, the authority is working closely with a number of banks to explore how they can share key risk information with each other in a timely and secure manner.
Game changer for AML/CFT
Such information sharing is a priority, and the MAS official wants to see legal frameworks in place in Singapore that emulate those in the US and UK that enable data exchange.
Loo says this is a complex endeavour, but one that promises to be a “game-changer” for AML/CFT, especially when coupled with the growing effectiveness of data analytics.
“We hope to make sufficient progress to outline our intended approach in the coming months,” Loo concluded.
The full text of Loo Siew Yee’s address at the ACAMS’ AML and Anti-Financial Crime Conference can be found here.
Categories: Trade Based Financial crimes News
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