Singapore’s latest money laundering national risk assessment report says overall money laundering threats to Singapore casinos are “moderately high.”
The report observed that for foreign customers at two casino complexes in the cities of Resorts World Sentosa and Marina Bay Sands, “typically” sources of wealth and funding would come from abroad.
“The greater difficulty and higher complexity of tracking and securing information abroad could increase the risk with respect to the casino’s ability to vindicate its funds,” it said.
The Singaporean government announced on Thursday. 바카라사이트
The report said the city’s casino sector had remained relatively stable for years, with total gaming revenue for the two casinos in the sector at around S$5.26 billion ($3.88 billion) as of the end of 2023.
According to the update, the national financial intelligence department “observed that most of the STR [suspected transaction reports] filed by casinos were not related to potential money laundering crimes and were instead filed with criminal charges under the Casino Management Act or following negative news about casino customers.”
However, the gambling regulator added: “We have taken comprehensive anti-money laundering/countermeasures against the financing of terrorist regimes for casinos.”
This was done through laws and regulations such as the Casino Management Act, the national casino management regulations, and the Internal Control Act.
The report noted that other steps to strengthen control include: “Casino operators are prohibited from having game money within seven days where purpose and ownership cannot be verified.”
The “other major money laundering threat” facing Singapore comes from “foreign organised crime, especially illegal online gambling,” according to the updated assessment.
“In a recent money laundering case involving foreclosure and prohibited assets worth S$3 billion, some of the defendants were found guilty of suspected proceeds laundering as a benefit of illegal online gambling by foreign organised crime groups.”
“These syndicates are making money from illegal online gambling and have been found to be linked to an internationally active Chinese illegal gambling syndicate,” the update said. It added that some of the money had been kept in Singapore’s bank accounts.
