Australian police have arrested three individuals on charges related to romance fraud. The suspects, two women and a man, allegedly attracted three victims using a newspaper dating ad posing as a widowed 50-year-old woman. According to authorities, the victims paid […]
Asia Pacific
After a series of high-end property raids in August recovered close to $1 billion in laundered assets, Singapore’s Council for Estate Agents (CEA) is investigating several property agents for potential involvement in illicit transactions. The CEA responded to the raids […]
Authorities in Singapore have made ten arrests, seizing illegal assets worth over S$900 million in simultaneous raids nationwide. The raids were the culmination of a forgery and money laundering (ML) investigation facilitated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and […]
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is proposing a rule that would close AML loopholes by standardizing licensing exemption criteria for single-family offices (SFOs). According to the criteria, firms would have to be family-owned and subject to more uniform AML/CFT […]
Malaysian deputy governor Marzunisham Omar has announced that the country’s central bank received around 250,000 suspicious transaction reports (STRs) in 2022 – representing a 30 percent increase from 2021. According to Omar, 70 percent of the reports pertained to the […]
Filipino President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has mandated all government offices and departments implement a revised anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CTF) strategy. The revised plan aims to “allow the Philippines to exit” the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey […]
The background of PSN02 lies in the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS_ commitment to maintaining the integrity and security of the financial system against money laundering and terrorism financing risks. By implementing the notice, MAS aims to strengthen the overall […]
On July 3, 2023, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced new investor protection measures for Digital Payment Token (DPT) service providers. The measures intend to address two primary risks: Protection from misuse or loss of customer assets. Provisions to […]
In a report released on June 27, 2023, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) revealed massive anti-money laundering and countering of terrorist financing (AML/CFT) regulatory shortcomings for the virtual asset sector in most surveyed countries worldwide. The report aggregated data […]
In the opening speech for the 2023 Regional Anti-Scam Conference in Singapore, Sun Xueling, Minister of State for the Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Social and Family Development, highlighted the need for countries to cooperate in combatting fraud. […]
Following a consultation in December 2022, the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) has released new compliance and reporting guidance for high-risk customers to discourage debanking activities, sometimes known as de-risking. Customers affected by debanking include some fintechs, remittance […]
With a government consultation currently underway as of April 2023, Tranche 2 anti-money laundering (AML) reforms may soon come into force in Australia. AML Tranche 2 has already been introduced by countries including the UK, Canada, and New Zealand, and […]