Singapore S$1 Billion Laundering Scandal Embroils Its Banking Giants
- Banks, property agents, golf clubs in city drawn into scandal
- Case raises questions about guardrails against illicit money
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Some of the biggest local and international banks in Singapore are becoming embroiled in one of the city-state’s largest money laundering cases involving more than S$1 billion ($740 million) of assets.
In charge sheets seen by Bloomberg News, some of the individuals who were arrested and charged this month held funds totaling millions — from unlicensed moneylending in China and illegal gambling — in United Overseas Bank Ltd. and the local units of Citigroup Inc. and RHB Bank Bhd. They also allegedly tried to cheat Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp., Standard Chartered Plc and CIMB Bank Bhd. using fake documents, the charge sheets show.