MAS orders shut of Falcon Bank Singapore

Falcon Private Bank Ltd has been ordered by Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to shut its operation in Singapore following the failures in anti-money laundering (AML) controls and improper conduct.

MAS said it will withdraw the merchant bank status of Falcon Bank Singapore branch for the failures at the Head Office in Switzerland and Singapore, and it will impose fines on DBS and UBS banks for breaches of MAS'AML requirements.

MAS said the action came after supervisory examinations by MAS into 1MDB related fund flows in those banks of from March 2013 t0 May 2015.

DBS fined S$1million for 10 breaches of MAS Notice 626 - Prevention of Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism. And UBS fined S$1.3 million for 13 breaches.