MAS fines trust firm for money laundering breaches

Asiaciti Trust committed money laundering breaches between 2007 and 2018.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has imposed a $1.1m composition penalty on trust firm Asiaciti Trust for failure to comply with anti-money laundering requirements, according to an announcement.

MAS found out that between 2007 and 2018, Asiaciti Trust committed serious breaches of AML/CFT regulations for trust companies. It failed to implement adequate AML/CFT policies and procedures, and did not subject its AML/CFT controls to independent audits.

These hindered the trust’s ability to detect and mitigate money laundering risks associated with its higher-risk customers.

The penalty amount took into consideration Asiaciti Trust’s response to the findings. The firm has taken remedial measures to address the deficiencies, including conducting a review of customer accounts and transactions, terminating a number of higher-risk trust accounts and filing suspicious transaction reports.