Directors of dormant companies
The ten people arrested as part of this investigation had work or residence visas as they were not wanted by Interpol, although some were wanted in China. Together, these individuals had ten family offices to manage their assets in Singapore, where there are three times more such structures than in 2020.
Some were formally employed by dormant companies or used real companies to build connections in Singapore so they could live there. And at the same time hide ill-gotten assets. To set up a business in Singapore, foreigners must appoint a local national or permanent resident as their representative. To meet this demand, the city has an army of professional managers, sometimes hired by dozens of companies at a time. A bit like the services of Swiss trustees. As in Switzerland, the same address in Singapore can host hundreds of shell companies. A project is currently underway to limit the number of these mandates. The Singaporean authorities report that 99% of these directors hold fewer than ten positions of this type.
Better than average
This group of Chinese used local banks or subsidiaries of American or Swiss corporations. The prospect of large deposits creates competition between banks, notes an expert interviewed by Bloomberg. If we show you the door with a million dollars, we'll roll out the red carpet for you with a billion, he explains.
In recent years, the city-state has been hit by the 1MDB and Wirecard scandals. Financial professionals were banned from practicing their profession and their employers were fined. According to the FATF, the intergovernmental organization that coordinates the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing, Singapore performs above average in combating money laundering. The country places a strong emphasis on collaboration and risk identification, but could improve on its oversight of intermediaries such as real estate agents.