MAS orders Swiss bank BSI to shut local operations for money laundering
There were “widespread control failures”, says MAS.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has ordered Swiss BSI Bank Limited to cease its local operations after discovering serious breaches of anti-money laundering requirements, poor management oversight of the bank’s operations, and gross misconduct by some of the bank’s staff.
Apart from revoking BSI’s merchant bank status, the MAS has also referred six members of the bank’s senior management and staff to the Public Prosecutor to evaluate whether they have committed criminal offences.
BSI Bank has been operating as a merchant bank in Singapore since November 2005 where it offers private banking services. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BSI SA, a bank founded in 1873 and headquartered in Switzerland.
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