Two bankers charged in $2.2b Singapore money laundering case

A Singapore court charged on Thursday two former bankers with assisting a group of foreigners convicted of laundering $2.2 billion in one of the city-state’s largest financial crimes.

Wang Qiming, 26, and Liu Kai, 35, both Chinese nationals, were employed by Citibank and Swiss private bank Julius Baer, respectively.

Wang faces 10 charges, including money laundering almost $379,708 and forgery, while Liu is accused of using a forged Chinese tax document to facilitate a bank account opening for one of the convicted money launderers.

Last August, Singaporean authorities arrested 10 foreign nationals holding multiple passports in connection with the case. The individuals were subsequently sentenced to jail terms ranging from 13 to 17 months and deported.

The case has prompted Singapore to implement reforms aimed at strengthening its anti-money laundering framework. The government established an inter-ministerial panel to review the process and scrutinise financial institutions.

In June, authorities identified the banking sector as the primary money laundering risk in the city-state.

Attribution: Reuters

Subediting: Y.Yasser