From PYMNTS.com, November 16:
Singapore’s status as a financial hub has also made it a popular destination for scammers.
That’s according to a report
Sunday (Nov. 16) by the Financial Times (FT), which said authorities in
the city-state are engaged in an ongoing “game of whack-a-mole” with
fraudsters, seeking vulnerabilities to exploit.
“The problem Singapore faces is
that as a trading nation, it is built around inflows and outflows — its
success makes it vulnerable to money laundering,” Rory Doyle, head of financial crime policy at compliance software company Fenergo, told the FT.
“Singapore’s geographical location
and reputation within Asia make it a jurisdiction of choice for
regional criminals,” added Chengyi Ong, head of Asia-Pacific policy at Chainalysis.
Highlighting the issue, FT said,
is last month’s seizure of assets linked to Cambodia’s Prince Group,
identified by British and American authorities as a “transnational
criminal empire,” operating investment scams.
In that case, the U.S. government
seized $15 billion in bitcoin and charged alleged ringleader Chen Zhi, a
37-year-old Chinese-born Cambodian national, with conspiring to commit wire fraud and money laundering.
Chen and his cohorts are accused
of running a widespread international criminal empire, forcing
trafficked workers at scam compounds in Cambodia to
steal billions of dollars from victims around the globe. From there,
the group allegedly laundered the proceeds through entities throughout
Asia and offshore financial centers....
....MUCH MORE
Probably related:
November 11 - "South-east Asia digital economy to surpass US$300 billion in 2025, rides AI wave"
November 9 - "Singapore Introduces Mandatory Caning For Scamming Offenses"
