Description

Singapore has again sought to toughen its stance against money laundering and the financing of terrorism with new measures to detect illicit funds and greater scrutiny of customers who may have ties to shadowy or opaque organisations. The new rules, announced in April 2015 by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (the “MAS”), require banks, financial institutions and now even include Corporate Service Providers and Housing Developers to screen customers and connected parties with more comprehensive monitoring and due diligence processes.

This session will highlight:

• Introduction to the Singapore legal framework (in particular the obligations under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act (“CDSA”));
• Brief overview on recent amendments to the CDSA;
• Case studies on recent money-laundering cases and observations on industry trends; and
• Ways to structure CDSA compliant internal reporting framework as well as the institution of adequate measures as a possible defence to any prosecution.

This seminar is targeted at in house counsel, especially those working under the MAS supervisory regime as well as compliance professionals operating in this sphere and legal professionals advising in this area.

About The Speaker

Andy is a partner with Allen & Gledhill LLP. He specialises in securities and banking regulatory compliance and in white-collar criminal defence and investigations work.

He has great span and depth in advising and handling matters involving UN Sanctions, complicated fraud, asset recovery, corruption (FCPA & UKBA), compliance and risk management, market misconduct, money laundering, as well as issues relating to counter-proliferation. He has also helmed a number of complicated confidential investigations into multi-jurisdictional fraud as well as highly sensitive matters involving senior management misconduct. He has also been successful in managing several disciplinary and ethical matters for his Firm’s premium and priority clients under his practice of employment law.

Andy has managed numerous regulatory and enforcement matters under the Securities & Futures Act for his Firm’s clients including international banking and financial institutions, premium individuals, sovereign wealth funds and listed companies. Clients have called on him because of his “out of the box and pragmatic solutions” as well as “his sheer dependability” in their times of crisis.

Andy started his legal career in the public service where he held the concurrent appointments of Magistrate, Subordinate Courts and Assistant Registrar of the Supreme Court, Singapore, from 1996 to 1998. Thereafter, he was appointed State Counsel and Deputy Public Prosecutor in the Attorney-General’s Chambers’ Civil Division as well as the then Criminal Justice Division till 2001. He has been with Allen & Gledhill LLP since then.

Andy graduated from the National University of Singapore with an LLB (Hons) degree in 1996 and was called to the Singapore Bar in 2000. He is also a non-practising solicitor of England and Wales, having been admitted to the Roll of Solicitors of England and Wales since 2010.