Singaporean regulators yesterday said they will fine two banks a total of more than US$5.3 million for having breached money laundering rules in dealings with an indebted Malaysian state fund.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) fined the local branch of Standard Chartered PLC, which is headquartered in London, S$5.2 million (US$3.7 million) for “significant lapses” in customer due diligence measures and controls.
Regulators also fined the Singapore branch of private bank Coutts & Co S$2.4 million for inadequate customer due diligence on “politically exposed persons.”
Coutts is winding down its Singapore operations after the Royal Bank of Scotland PLC sold it to Union Bancaire Privee in March last year.
Singapore’s actions result from findings of a multinational probe into allegations that people close to Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak stole more than US$1 billion from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
“The control lapses stemmed from inadequacies in policies and procedures, insufficient independent oversight of front office staff and a lack of awareness of money laundering risks among some bank staff,” the authority said in a statement.
In February, Singapore authorities said they had “seized a large number of bank accounts” in connection with the Malaysian fund probe.
Regulators are expected give a final update on their findings early next year.
The authority also said it planned to impose a 10-year ban on conducting banking business and functions on a former Goldman Sachs Group Inc executive.
Tim Leissner led Goldman Sachs’ Singapore branch until February although he moved to Hong Kong in 2011. He managed three 1MDB bond issuances from 2012 to 2013 and issued an unauthorized reference letter to a financial institution in Luxembourg in June last year.
The authority said Leissner falsely claimed the bank had conducted due diligence on businessman Low Taek Jho (劉特佐), who is close to Najib’s family.
It said it was working with foreign “regulatory authorities” to investigate Goldman Sachs’ role in the bond transactions for 1MDB.
Goldman Sachs said it discovered the violation of its own standards in January, “took steps to separate Mr Leissner from the firm,” and reported the problem to regulators in several places, including Singapore.
“We continue to cooperate with the MAS,” the company said in a statement.
Leissner’s attorney said he had not received any notices or been questioned by the authority.
“Prior to today, Mr Leissner had not heard of any contemplated regulatory action by the MAS and had not been contacted by the MAS or given any opportunity to respond to the MAS regarding the allegations raised in the notice,” Marc Harris of the Scheper Harris & Kim law firm in Los Angeles, California, said in a statement.
“He has been invited by the MAS to respond to the allegations raised in the notice and he looks forward to doing so,” the statement said.
China has claimed a breakthrough in developing homegrown chipmaking equipment, an important step in overcoming US sanctions designed to thwart Beijing’s semiconductor goals. State-linked organizations are advised to use a new laser-based immersion lithography machine with a resolution of 65 nanometers or better, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in an announcement this month. Although the note does not specify the supplier, the spec marks a significant step up from the previous most advanced indigenous equipment — developed by Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group Co (SMEE, 上海微電子) — which stood at about 90 nanometers. MIIT’s claimed advances last
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has appointed Rose Castanares, executive vice president of TSMC Arizona, as president of the subsidiary, which is responsible for carrying out massive investments by the Taiwanese tech giant in the US state, the company said in a statement yesterday. Castanares will succeed Brian Harrison as president of the Arizona subsidiary on Oct. 1 after the incumbent president steps down from the position with a transfer to the Arizona CEO office to serve as an advisor to TSMC Arizona’s chairman, the statement said. According to TSMC, Harrison is scheduled to retire on Dec. 31. Castanares joined TSMC in
EUROPE ON HOLD: Among a flurry of announcements, Intel said it would postpone new factories in Germany and Poland, but remains committed to its US expansion Intel Corp chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger has landed Amazon.com Inc’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) as a customer for the company’s manufacturing business, potentially bringing work to new plants under construction in the US and boosting his efforts to turn around the embattled chipmaker. Intel and AWS are to coinvest in a custom semiconductor for artificial intelligence computing — what is known as a fabric chip — in a “multiyear, multibillion-dollar framework,” Intel said in a statement on Monday. The work would rely on Intel’s 18A process, an advanced chipmaking technology. Intel shares rose more than 8 percent in late trading after the
FACTORY SHIFT: While Taiwan produces most of the world’s AI servers, firms are under pressure to move manufacturing amid geopolitical tensions Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想) started building artificial intelligence (AI) servers in India’s south, the latest boon for the rapidly growing country’s push to become a high-tech powerhouse. The company yesterday said it has started making the large, powerful computers in Pondicherry, southeastern India, moving beyond products such as laptops and smartphones. The Chinese company would also build out its facilities in the Bangalore region, including a research lab with a focus on AI. Lenovo’s plans mark another win for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who tries to attract more technology investment into the country. While India’s tense relationship with China has suffered setbacks