Taking wildlife smugglers to tusk: Singapore gives teeth to fight with new anti-trafficking laws

SINGAPORE took a big step last week in tackling wildlife trafficking by amending its laws to classify such offences as serious, organised crimes – a move that advocacy groups have applauded for the strong signal it sends to crime syndicates.

Enforcement agencies here now can go “as deep as needed” to reach individuals and companies “higher up in the (syndicate) structure”, said Elke Biechele, member of the Singapore Wildcat Action Group. These are individuals and groups who make significant profits from large and transnational illicit wildlife trade operations.

People’s Action Party MP Louis Ng, who has been calling for the amendments since 2021, noted that the latest move gives law enforcement greater power and “more teeth” to not just nab the runners, but to go after kingpins as well.

“Deterrence at the checkpoints will go only some way,” he added. “(The legislative changes) – that’s the biggest deterrence.” 

Under the amendments, which took effect on Aug 30, wildlife crimes such as importing, exporting and keeping scheduled species without a permit and the illegal sale of wildlife are now considered serious offences under the Organised Crime Act. Other crimes that the law covers include drug-related offences and unlicensed moneylending. 

Scheduled species are protected wildlife species, which include animals such as the leopard cat, dugong, the Sunda pangolin and the flying fox.

The changes mean stiffer penalties for wildlife offences: individuals who are caught and found guilty could be jailed for up to 20 years, if there are links to organised crimes. Offenders could still be subject to the penalties under the Endangered Species (Import and Export) Act and Wildlife Act, depending on the facts and circumstances of the case.

Prevention orders may also be granted by the courts to prevent, restrict or disrupt the involvement of individuals in organised crime groups, while benefits from wildlife trafficking can now be confiscated. 

It follows amendments made in August to the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act (CDSA). Law enforcement agencies can soon investigate money laundering offences resulting in wildlife crimes if it is suspected that the monies in Singapore are derived from offences committed overseas.

New predicate offences of illegal killing and trapping wildlife were also added to the CDSA in September 2023. “This provides an additional avenue for the prosecution to pursue cases relating to the illegal wildlife trade,” said the police, in reponse to queries from The Business Times.

The Republic joins other jurisdictions in Asia in enacting such laws. Hong Kong, for instance, amended its Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance in 2021 to include wildlife offences. 

China, Vietnam and Thailand also have in place similar legislation to deal with wildlife trafficking offences and their potential links to crime syndicates, noted observers. 

The changes to Singapore’s Organised Crime Act could encourage others in the region to take a stronger stance against the illicit wildlife trade as well, said Biechele, who is also chief executive officer of financial investigation firm RisikoTek.

“Hopefully other countries that are also affected by the operations of transnational wildlife crime will also make their regulation stronger against illegal wildlife trafficking and favour instances for collaboration with Singapore and other neighbours,” she added.

Vulnerable to exploitation

As an international trade hub, Singapore is vulnerable to being exploited by traders and smugglers trafficking wildlife products and exotic pets. This is despite having fairly stringent laws even prior to the Aug 30 amendments.

“We do have certain vulnerabilities because of our position in the international trade system,” noted Associate Professor Jolene Lin of the law faculty at the National University of Singapore.

“We are a very open economy, and we are an entrepot trade (centre)... we remain a very busy port as well as an airport,” she said. “As a result, we are susceptible and naturally endowed with the kind of qualities that enable us to be a hub for all sorts of things, legal as well as illegal.”

Anbarasi Boopal, co-CEO of wildlife advocacy group Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres), pointed out that Singapore’s reputation for having robust goods controls has also resulted in attempts by smugglers to abuse and misuse the city-state’s stamp to legitimise illicit goods.

Biechele also noted that Singapore’s free trade agreements (FTAs) with other countries, that are typically designed to have looser regulatory requirements, are another feature that criminal syndicates tend to abuse. “The FTAs facilitate entrepot trade and transhipment activities, which can help obscure the original point of departure or even the identity of original shippers and consignees.”

Anbarasi added that with Singapore being a major transnational hub, the sheer volume of goods that goes through its borders can provide a cover for illegal activities. Not all contraband can be intercepted since it is impossible to thoroughly scan every shipment that passes through the land checkpoints, port and airport.

To make matters worse, said Biechele, criminal organisations trading illicit wildlife often continuously update their methods to conceal the animals or products in transit. For instance, ivory has been hidden among sacks of corn in shipping containers, and turtles have been declared as almond and chocolate cookies before.

Demand-wise, considerable work has gone into clamping down on the sale of animal parts, such as elephant ivory, rhino horns and pangolin scales. For instance, Singapore banned the domestic trade of elephant ivory in 2021.

But there continues to be a sizeable demand for live animals, noted Anbarasi. “It’s just that the types of animals have changed. Demand has shifted from larger primates to smaller reptiles and other animals.”

Gateway to other crimes

Alarms on the illegal wildlife trade have sounded for years, but the issue has received greater attention recently due to its links to other crimes – particularly money laundering.

Singapore, for instance, released its first-ever national risk assessment report in May connecting money laundering with wildlife and other environmental offences.

The report cited a case where an unnamed local bank suspected a customer of laundering S$130,000 in proceeds from a sale of 11 cheetahs from a South African supplier. The financial transaction passed through Singapore though the shipment did not go through its port.

Other researchers and international bodies, too, have made links between wildlife crimes and other serious offences. For instance, traffickers often test smuggling routes by first transporting wildlife, before using them for other higher-stakes criminal activities, such as moving drugs.

Recent research has also revealed that some networks are linked to terrorist organisations, noted Uma Sachidhanandam, director of conservation and science at WWF-Singapore.

It is thus no surprise that wildlife trafficking has grown into a huge and lucrative industry. This illegal activity generates about US$110 billion to US$281 billion in criminal gains every year, according to a 2021 estimate by the Financial Action Task Force, an intergovernmental organisation tackling money laundering.

In 2023, Interpol estimated that the black market for illegal wildlife products is one of the world’s largest criminal activities, at US$20 billion per year.

While past wildlife trade offences investigated have not revealed links to organised crime groups here, this does not preclude such a possibility in the future, said the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in a statement on Aug 29.

“There is a risk that organised crime groups in Singapore could get involved in the trade,” it added.

The inclusion of wildlife offences in the schedule of the Organised Crime Act is a proactive measure to enhance deterrence and empower the authorities to cripple the operation of criminal groups, should such activities emerge in Singapore in the future, said MHA in its statement.

This comes as Second Home Affairs Minister Josephine Teo, in a speech in Parliament on the Anti-Money Laundering and Other Matters Bill, said that environmental crimes are “one of the largest contributors to transnational organised criminal activities in the East Asia and Pacific region”.

“There is a high propensity for funds arising from such crimes to flow into Singapore, given that we are a well-connected international financial, trading and transit hub.”

Following the money

Wildlife advocacy groups and observers now await further details on implementation and enforcement.

“Institutions dealing with wildlife trade, both government bodies and private actors, will start working on how to detect and report potential illegal wildlife trafficking,” said Biechele.

This is helpful given that wildlife trafficking is often a complex operation involving multiple actors – from exporters and transporters to funders and other intermediaries – across multiple jurisdictions.

Criminal syndicates also often obscure their crimes by using shell companies, front businesses and informal and unregulated payment networks or digital currencies with no traceability.

The next step, noted WWF’s Sachidhanandam, is also to ensure that all wildlife-related crimes are screened for the involvement of any organised crime group, and vice versa.

The changes in legislation also enable a “cross-sector” approach of drawing between the Endangered Species (Import and Export) Act, as well as the Wildlife Act, pointed out Dr Michelle Lim, associate professor of law at Singapore Management University.

“This holistic approach enables Singapore to play a substantial role in the transnational regulation of the trade in endangered species,” she said. “It also helps ensure that the country’s natural heritage is not jeopardised by such trade.”

Asked how the authorities conduct financial investigations for wildlife trafficking cases, the police said the Commercial Affairs Department will consider such investigations if there is reasonable suspicion of criminal benefits derived from illicit trade passing through Singapore.

This includes financial investigations such as analysing bank account information and seeking assistance from foreign counterparts, they said.

Local authorities can make formal requests for assistance through the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act. They can also seek help from counterpart financial intelligence units, as well as exchange information with foreign law enforcement.

Cross-border cooperation

The newly amended laws also affect other regions, added SMU’s Dr Lim. In South-east Asia, in particular, the cost of having to avoid Singapore “could serve as a significant deterrent to these illegal activities”.

“There will likely be ripple effects globally, too, as freight from around the world passes through Singapore,” she said.

Sachidhanandam believes that the move will encourage Singapore’s neighbours to take up similar measures, given that the Republic is involved in several regional networks. These include the Interpol Wildlife Crime Working Group and the Asean Working Group on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) and Wildlife Enforcement.

Still, others think that regional cooperation could be beefed up.

Even if the Republic seeks to raise its standards, it may not have as much of an impact if they are not consistent across the region, argued Prof Lin.

Singapore, as a significant player in the trade, can thus take on a bigger role in shoring up regional efforts, by advocating and putting more resources into establishing standardised requirements, she added.

But, noted Biechele, this is often challenging, given that each country has its own regulatory framework and different enforcement capabilities. Even just sharing information on a particular case can be difficult, she pointed out. “It is sometimes limited across agencies within the same jurisdiction, so it is surely more complicated between countries.”

Exacerbating the issue is the fact that there is not enough political buy-in to really tackle the issue, said Prof Lin.

“But I’m not entirely pessimistic,” she continued. Singapore leading efforts in climate change, for instance, has resulted in greater climate disclosures and moved forward the agenda on renewable energy.

“I think that’s really a sign of how significant change can be achieved very quickly, if enough resources and political will are thrown behind (an issue).”