Singapore plans to make transfer of money into the country that involves tax evasion a crime, the central bank said on Thursday, stepping up its fight against the inflow of illicit funds. "Singapore intends to make criminal (any) laundering of proceeds from tax offences," Ravi Menon, the managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, said in a speech.
"As other jurisdiction tighten their regimes and tax evasion monies seek cover, Singapore is sending a clear message that it neither wants nor will tolerate these illicit inflows." In August, Switzerland agreed with Germany and Britain to tax money kept by their residents in secret Swiss accounts and also introduce a withholding tax on future interest payments that still preserves strict bank secrecy.
Singapore, a major Asian private banking centre, also plans to introduce tougher penalties if someone violates laws against money laundering or terrorism financing, Menon said. It plans to boost resources such as police manpower to deal with suspicious transactions reported by financial institutions. Menon brushed aside suggestions that Singapore's private banking industry benefits from large inflows from Europe.
He cited a recent report of the Boston Consulting Group that said European wealth is estimated at just 10 percent of the $900 billion offshore assets managed in Singapore and Hong Kong. "The growth of Singapore's private banking industry has been and will continue to be spurred largely by wealth created from the strong economic growth in Asia," he said. European wealth managers are investing aggressively in Asian centres such as Singapore, viewed by some like Julius Baer as their second home, to grab a share of the continent's booming private wealth.
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