Singapore’s financial institutions have been told to maintain heightened scrutiny of transactions and business relationships linked to North Korea, Iran and Myanmar.
This comes as the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) warned of continuing risks from illicit financing, weapons proliferation and cyber scams.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), in an advisory following FATF’s October 2026 review, said financial institutions should continue applying appropriate risk controls when dealing with individuals and entities connected to the three jurisdictions.
North Korea and Iran remain on FATF’s list of high-risk jurisdictions subject to a call for action, requiring countries to impose countermeasures to protect the international financial system.
FATF raised concerns over North Korea’s growing connections with the global financial system despite its failure to address significant weaknesses in its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing framework.
It warned that these links could increase proliferation financing risks associated with the country’s weapons of mass destruction programmes.
Iran also remains subject to countermeasures, with FATF citing persistent shortcomings in its efforts to combat terrorist financing and enforce targeted financial sanctions.
Its action plan, which expired in January 2018, remains incomplete despite limited progress in establishing a framework for receiving international asset-freezing requests.
MAS said Singapore’s financial institutions should pay particular attention to transactions involving companies, financial institutions, and individuals acting on behalf of North Korea and Iran.
They must also continue complying with Singapore’s 2023 sanctions regulations covering both countries.
Myanmar remains subject to enhanced due diligence, with FATF pointing to limited progress in addressing weaknesses in its anti-money laundering framework over the past five years.
The watchdog also highlighted the continued scale of fraud and cyber scam operations in Myanmar, which pose significant illicit financing risks.
While the country has taken steps to tackle these activities, including plans to establish a national anti-online scams centre, FATF said further action was needed.
MAS clarified that Myanmar is not subject to the same countermeasures imposed on North Korea and Iran. Financial institutions must nevertheless remain alert to risks involving customers and transactions linked to the country.
The regulator also stressed that enhanced checks should not disrupt legitimate humanitarian assistance, non-profit activities and remittances involving Myanmar.
Non-financial businesses in Singapore subject to anti-money laundering requirements were also advised to take note of the FATF assessments and apply appropriate safeguards.
