Singapore's AML Bill removes need to prove link to predicate offences

The Bill was introduced to parliament on 2 July 2024. It seeks to address the difficulties associated with obtaining evidence from foreign victims, entities and authorities and proving the complete trail of monies, especially where it has passed through multiple foreign jurisdictions. The amendment will mean the prosecution can establish an AML offence merely by showing that the alleged launderers knew or had reasonable grounds to believe they were dealing with criminal proceeds.

Other amendments will designate certain foreign environmental crimes as predicate AML offences, even though they do not have direct domestic equivalents under Singaporean law and so cannot satisfy the dual criminality test. This will allow Singapore's law enforcement agencies to investigate suspected money laundering arising from illegal mining, waste trafficking or logging in foreign countries.

A further provision will allow the tax authority to share tax and trade data with the Suspicious Transaction Reporting Office (STRO). Regulators for the estate agency and accounting professions will be able to access suspicious transaction reports filed with STRO by their respective regulated entities.

New powers are also to be provided for dealing with seized or restrained properties linked to suspected criminal activities. At the moment, seized properties cannot be sold without obtaining consent from all parties; however, the new Bill will permit prosecutors to apply for the sale of seized property without the consent of the owners if necessary. A further amendment will apply where an investigation is stalled because the suspected perpetrators have absconded abroad. Such individuals sometimes file a claim from their foreign refuge for the return of properties seized in connection with the investigation. The new Bill will require the absconded persons to personally present themselves to the Singapore authorities before they can make a claim to the seized properties.

Sources

• Shook Lin & Bok (PDF)
• Singapore parliament (text of Bill, PDF)