MAS fines Citi, DBS, OCBC and Swiss Life after Wirecard probe

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has imposed a total fine of S$3.8 million on Citibank, DBS Bank, OCBC and Swiss Life for breaching Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) requirements.

MAS discovered these violations when it investigated these financial institutions following reports of irregularities related to Wirecard AG’s financial statements and the alleged involvement of Singapore-based individuals and entities in the matter.

These four financial institutions were found to have inadequate AML/CFT controls when dealing with individuals who were involved in or had relationships with Wirecard AG or its related parties.

MAS said that even though the breaches were serious, it did not find willful misconduct by any employee of these financial institutions. He had taken prompt remedial action to rectify the deficiencies identified by MAS.

These include enhancements to their processes and procedures, and training to improve staff vigilance in detecting and raising risk concerns.

MAS fined Citibank S$400,000, DBS S$2.6 million, OCBC S$600,000 and Swiss Life S$200,000. According to the regulator, all four have accepted the fine.

Ho Hearn Shin, Deputy Managing Director (Financial Supervision) of MAS said,

“As Singapore grows in importance as an international financial centre, MAS expects our financial institutions to step up their controls against facilitating illicit financial flows.

They must implement robust know-your-customer measures, monitor ongoing transactions to ensure that these conform to their understanding of their customers and their businesses, and when customers use complex structures So more caution should be exercised.