MAS to launch digital platform to curb money laundering, terror financing

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the city-state’s central bank and financial regulator, said it will introduce a digital platform that allows banks and other financial institutions (FIs) to share relevant information on customers and transactions with each other to prevent money laundering (ML) and terrorism financing (TF).

Photo credit: Monetary Authority of Singapore

The platform, named COSMIC – short for collaborative sharing of ML/TF information and cases – will be rolled out in the first half of 2023.

COSMIC will be co-created by MAS and six major commercial banks in Singapore: DBS, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation, United Overseas Bank, Standard Chartered, Citibank, and HSBC. The platform will have security features to prevent unauthorized access to information and will be operated by MAS, the central bank said in a statement.

Singapore is one of the biggest destinations for suspect transactions in Asia, according to a Bloomberg report.

In most jurisdictions, a common challenge that financial institutions face is being unable to warn one another about unusual activity in customers’ accounts, according to MAS.

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“It (COSMIC) will strengthen Singapore’s position as a trusted financial center and place to do business, where FIs can better serve the vast majority of legitimate customers,” said Loo Siew Yee, assistant managing director for policy payments and financial crime at MAS.