The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has imposed total penalties of SGD27.45 million on nine financial institutions (FIs) for compliance failures related to the major anti-money laundering (AML) scandal exposed in 2023.

The affair resulted in the seizure of USD2.8 billion from ten Singapore-resident suspects of Chinese origin, with connections to family offices. They had banking relationships with more than ten Singapore FIs, including some of the biggest local and international banks, which emerged during MAS' investigations from early 2023 to early 2025. FIs and other companies had filed reports on the use of suspected forged documents to substantiate sources of funds in bank accounts. The suspects were found to have registered foreign and local companies under their names by securing work passes to legitimise their stay. They had used these companies to open bank accounts to funnel illicit funds. These funds were used to purchase properties and luxury items.

All ten subjects have since been convicted of money laundering and other offences, sentenced to imprisonment of between 13 and 17 months and deported and barred from re-entering Singapore. More than 90 per cent of the properties seized from these individuals, totalling approximately more than SGD940 million, have been forfeited to the state. Investigations were launched against 17 persons not based in Singapore.

The scandal has already led to several regulatory initiatives to institute stricter client scrutiny protocols, tighten AML rules and bring family offices under closer scrutiny.