Singapore retained its position among the world’s stronger jurisdictions for combating illicit finance after the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) said the city-state has a “robust and effective” framework to counter money laundering, terrorism financing, and proliferation financing.
The development comes as regulators push for tighter oversight of emerging risks tied to virtual assets and foreign legal structures.
The Paris-based watchdog’s latest peer evaluation report placed Singapore on “Regular Follow-up,” a category reserved for jurisdictions that perform well in mutual evaluations.
This marks an improvement from the country’s previous assessment in 2016 despite stricter global standards introduced since then.
The FATF said Singapore demonstrated strong governance structures, risk-based supervision, and effective coordination between government agencies, financial institutions, and international counterparts.
It also cited Singapore’s law enforcement capabilities, including its use of financial intelligence, asset recovery efforts, and cross-border cooperation.
The report comes as Singapore continues to tighten scrutiny of financial crime following several high-profile money-laundering cases that have rattled the city-state’s reputation as a global wealth and digital finance hub.
Authorities in recent years have increased oversight of banks, family offices and virtual asset service providers amid rising concerns over cross-border illicit flows.
While the FATF said banks and virtual asset service providers generally showed good awareness of proliferation financing risks and compliance obligations, it identified areas requiring further improvement.
These include enhancing risk awareness in sectors not traditionally covered by FATF obligations, such as representative offices of foreign flag states, and strengthening safeguards involving foreign legal persons and arrangements.
Singapore said it would study the recommendations and continue refining its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regime in a “risk-proportionate manner.”
The government also said it plans to expand its Collaborative Sharing of Money Laundering/Terrorism Financing Information and Cases platform, known as COSMIC, to include additional major banks and broader information-sharing in significant cases, as authorities seek closer public-private cooperation against increasingly sophisticated financial crime.