As reported by the Straits Times, Singapore is considering tightening the due diligence process for customers at its casinos in an effort to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing.
According to a Casino Regulatory Authority (CRA) spokesperson, the legislative threshold for cash transactions at casinos that are subject to regulatory review will be halved from S$10,000 to S$5,000.
“The Ministry of Home Affairs and CRA are reviewing the legislative thresholds in the Casino Control Act with a view to lowering these thresholds further to fully comply with the FATF Standards,” the CRA said.
The move follows a report from the Financial Action Task Force back in November 2019 highlighting that the city-state still had some work to do to align its customer due diligence requirements to international standards for sectors such as casinos and real estate. At the time, the FATF said “moderate shortcomings are still affecting” the two sectors.
As a result, both the casino/gambling and real estate sectors may be subject to regulatory reform introducing stricter AML/KYC and client due diligence obligations over the next few months.
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Last updated on May 9th, 2023 at 09:05 pm
