Standard Chartered Bank (StanChart) units in Singapore have been fined a total of S$6.4 million (US$4.85 million) for breaching anti-money laundering and counter financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) requirements.

Standard Chartered Bank Singapore (SCBS) has been fined S$5.2 million (US$3.95 million) and Standard Chartered Trust Limited in Singapore (SCTS) has been fined S$1.2 million (US$0.9 million).

Breaches

The penalties imposed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) relate to AML/CFT breaches during the transfer of trust accounts of SCBS customers from the Guernsey branch of SCTS to one in Singapore in December 2015 and January 2016.

The units risk management and controls in relation to the transfers were found by MAS to be unsatisfactory because some clients were attempting to avoid their Common Reporting Standards obligations.

The authority says SCBS and SCTS did not adequately assess and mitigate against this risk factor. They also failed to file suspicious transaction reports in time.

Mitigating factors

But according to MAS, it took mitigating factors into account. SCBS proactively notified the authority of its internal review of the trust accounts, while management of both StanChart units were strongly committed to addressing the breaches identified by the regulator.

Both SCBS and SCTS have taken substantial remedial measures to strengthen their AML/CFT risk management and controls MAS has said.