Environmental crime: How dirty money linked to the illegal wildlife trade can be laundered through Singapore was highlighted in a risk assessment report published on May 29. — AFP
IN 2020, a bank in Singapore found that one of its customers had paid S$130,000 (RM452,391) to a South African supplier for 11 cheetahs.
Though the animals were transported directly from the source country to the destination country and never transited through Singapore, the money passed through the customer’s bank account here.
The bank, which was not named by the authorities, filed a suspicious transaction report (STR) and terminated the customer relationship.
This example of how dirty money linked to the illegal wildlife trade can be laundered through Singapore was highlighted in a risk assessment report linking environmental crimes and money laundering.
It was published on May 29 by the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Ministry of Finance.
This is the first time a national risk assessment has been conducted for this area of concern.
In the 29-page report, the authorities said: “Environmental crimes and the laundering of its proceeds are not victimless crimes. They disrupt and harm our environment and ecosystem, with far-reaching and long-term impact on current and future generations.”
The Financial Action Task Force said in July 2021 that such crimes generate about US$110bil (RM516.9bil) to US$281bil (RM1.32 trillion) in criminal gains every year.
The report noted that non-governmental organisations have identified Singapore to be a transit country for environmental crimes and dirty money linked to it, given its geographical location and status as a financial centre.
The report highlighted money laundering threats from three environmental crimes that Singapore is particularly exposed to. They comprise the illegal wildlife trade, illegal logging and waste trafficking.
The report noted that the Singapore authorities had carried out more illegal wildlife trade seizures and enforcement actions from 2015 to 2019.
In 2018, about 3.5 tonnes of elephant tusks worth around S$3.3mil (RM11.4mil) were detected in a sea container arriving in Singapore, en route from Nigeria to Vietnam. The authorities found the tusks hidden among sacks of groundnuts.
In 2019, the republic seized the biggest single haul of pangolin scales globally in recent years – 12.9 tonnes of the animal parts worth S$52.3mil (RM182mil).
In October 2022, Singapore made its largest seizure of rhinoceros horns, weighing 34.7kg and worth S$1.2mil (RM4.17mil). — The Straits Times/ANN
