Singapore banks to take ‘further action’ if needed against arms dealers linked to Myanmar: MAS
SINGAPORE banks will not facilitate the sale and transfer of arms to Myanmar, in line with a government ban, and these lenders will take further action if necessary, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said on Friday (May 19).
The regulator’s statement follows a report by United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews, which found that Singapore companies have been involved in trade in arms and related materials worth US$254 million to the Myanmar military.
It said Singapore banks have been “used extensively” by arms dealers operating within and outside the city-state, with payments for “hundreds of millions of dollars of arms transfers” moving through Singapore banks.
In its statement, MAS said it has alerted banks in Singapore, based on the information in the UN report, on the situation of human rights in Myanmar.
“Several of the entities mentioned in the report no longer have business relationships with the banks,” MAS said. “Banks are closely scrutinising transactions of the remaining entities and will take further actions as necessary.”
The regulator noted that the banks here are also keenly alert to the risks arising from the deteriorating situation in Myanmar, and have been applying enhanced due diligence to all transactions involving Myanmar entities and individuals which present higher risk.
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They are also alert to the risk of shell companies and concealed networks of related entities being used to obscure links to the Myanmar military, MAS said.
“They have stepped up efforts to detect such entities and networks,” said MAS. “This includes deploying data analytics drawing on internal and external data and intelligence sources.”
The UN report noted that Singapore has become a “major jurisdiction for spare parts, raw materials and manufacturing equipment” sent to the Myanmar military.
“Entities operating in Singapore have become critical to the continued operation of Myanmar’s KaPaSa weapons factories,” said the UN report, adding that at least 138 Singapore-based firms have served as intermediaries for the Myanmar military since the coup in early 2021.
However, the UN report noted that it has made the decision not to list the names of entities transferring arms to the Myanmar military based in Singapore, in order to allow time for the Singapore government and other UN member states to take action against these entities.
Separately, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said earlier on Friday that Singapore will not hesitate to take action against individuals or entities that contravene the Republic’s laws.
MFA added that Singapore has taken a principled position against the Myanmar military’s use of lethal force against unarmed civilians, and has worked to prevent the flow of arms into Myanmar, as called for in a UN General Assembly resolution on the situation there.
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