StanChart says 1MDB-linked breaches 'historical', vows to donate profits to charity

STANDARD Chartered Bank on Friday sought to restore its credibility by highlighting that certain transactions found in breach of the Singapore central bank's anti-money laundering (AML) requirements are "historical".

It also said it has taken, and continues to take, remedial and disciplinary action where warranted. It will also be donating the profits relating to these transactions to charitable causes, in line with its community efforts in Singapore.

This was in response to an announcement by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) earlier on Friday that it has imposed a penalty of S$5.2 million on StanChart's Singapore branch for 28 breaches of MAS's AML requirements.

In a statement, StanChart said: "We regret that 1MDB-related transactions passed through Standard Chartered Bank Singapore accounts from 2010 to early 2013. We reported the suspicious transactions, both before and at the time we exited the accounts in early 2013, and have been fully cooperating with the authorities investigating this matter."

It added that it will continue to strengthen its controls, processes, and surveillance systems. "Most importantly, we have raised staff awareness of the vital role we play in our fight against financial crime. These efforts have been driven by our Financial Crime Risk Mitigation Programme, a global initiative launched in 2013 that is designed to deliver significant and long lasting enhancements across the entire organisation in people, processes and technology to strengthen our financial crime compliance capabilities," it said.