“Combating Financial Crime: International and National Efforts” – Keynote Address by Mr Ong Chong Tee, Deputy Managing Director (Financial Supervision), Monetary Authority of Singapore at the ABS Financial Crime Seminar on 2 July 2014
MAS deputy managing director for financial supervision Ong Chong Tee said the development of more advanced and secure electronic payment systems had reduced the need for large value cash-based transactions.
Ong told the annual financial crime seminar of the Association of Banks of Singapore on 2 July that MAS will discontinue issuing the banknote from 1 October 2014. Existing SGD 10,000 banknotes in circulation will remain legal tender, including all notes under a ‘Currency Inter-changeability Agreement’ with Brunei, he said. “However, we expect the stock of such notes to dwindle over time, as worn notes are returned to us and not replaced.”
Ong said a money laundering and terrorist financing national risk assessment (NRA) report (94-page / 992 KB PDF) published last January, based on a “comprehensive assessment” by more than 15 government agencies of the adequacy of measures relating to anti-money laundering and terrorist financing, highlighted “risks inherent in cash-intensive industries and large value cash transactions”.
The report’s results “largely validated the prevailing instinctive sense that high-risk sectors are primarily the cash intensive and internationally oriented ones, such as casinos and remittance agents”, Ong said. The NRA also revealed “emerging risk areas” such as virtual currencies and large-value precious stones and metals dealings, and the potential risks associated with these sectors are also being considered.
Link to the speech by Mr Ong Chong Tee: click here