Money laundering risks in Singapore climb 79% in 2023: Moody’s 

Tighter scrutiny sought for CSPs.

The number of money laundering risk cases in the city-state jumped by 79% in 2023 from 2022 amid a deluge of international transactions, according to Moody’s.

In a recent note, Choon Hong Chua, senior director and head of the financial crime practice group for APAC/Middle East at Moody’s, said that the Lion City continues to be susceptible to heightened money laundering risks given its open economy and the volume of transactions.

More and more shell companies are being created through corporate service providers (CSPs) in the city-state. Data from Moody’s showed that about 8% of the 1.7 million Singapore-registered entities have directors with an anomalous number of concurrent directorships or directorships across inactive companies. 

“These patterns could suggest nominee directors are being used to mask ownership,” Moody’s said.

As part of enhancing due diligence and risk mitigation measures, Moody’s believes stronger scrutiny is needed for CSPs or legal persons who deal with these entities on behalf of clients.

The latest Money Laundering National Risk Assessment (NRA) report showed the banking sector, including wealth management, posed the highest money laundering risk in the city-state.