by jiawen

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In order to address this issue, the Ministry of Law (MinLaw) has set out rules that require all the PSMDs to register themselves. This helps to ensure compliance with the anti-money laundering/ countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regulations. PSMDs need to comply with entity-based requirements which include performing risk assessment and implementation of internal policies, procedures and controls (IPPC). Simultaneously, regulated dealers will have to comply with transaction-based requirements which include performing customer due diligence, filing cash transaction report (CTR) and so on. Any violations can face a fine up to S$ 75,000 or three years of imprisonment.

Based on a news reported in August 2020, a PSMD based in Singapore has been fined for S$9,000 due to its failure to file a CTR. The company did not report the single cash transaction that exceeded threshold amount of S$20,000 made by their customer to the authority. This customer turned out to be a member of a criminal syndicate behind a SkillsFuture scam.

 

Conclusion

PSMDs are facing many challenges in the compliance journey especially when the regulatory landscape is expanding to cover a wider range of concerns. Therefore, it is crucial for PSMDs to develop a comprehensive set of AML/CFT measures to better detect and manage suspicious transactions. To put plans into action, regulated dealers will have to conduct awareness training especially for those customer-facing employees. This can help them to identify the standard operating procedures of the company. They will also have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities in managing ML/TF risks. In short, when the regulated dealers maintain a strong due diligence and compliance programme, they can avoid themselves from ML/TF scandals and the financial penalties for non-compliance.

 

How We Can Help

  • Help with registration with MinLaw via GoBusiness Licensing Portal
  • Develop internal policies, procedures and controls (IPPC) to better manage the ML/TF risks
  • Provide guidance on risk assessment procedure
  • AML/CFT compliance

 

Reference Materials

Lam, L. (2020). ‘Poh Heng Jewellery fined for not reporting cash transaction later linked to S$39.9m SkillsFuture fraud in first such case’, Channel News Asia, 11 August. Available at: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/poh-heng-jewellery-fine-cash-transaction-skillsfuture-fraud-615801

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