$3b money laundering case: MinLaw names 6 law firms taken to task over involvement in property deals
The ministry named another three law practices it has reprimanded for their involvement in the property deals.
SINGAPORE – The Ministry of Law (MinLaw) has named the three law firms penalised for anti-money laundering breaches over the purchase of properties in Singapore's largest case of money laundering involving $3 billion.
The ministry also named another three law practices it has reprimanded for their involvement in the property deals, and the five lawyers referred to the Law Society for potential disciplinary action.
In a statement on Aug 1, MinLaw said the Director of Legal Services (DLS) has
now dealt with 13 out of the 24 law practices that were involved in the property deals. Inquiries into the remaining 11 firms are ongoing.
Anthony Law Corporation (ALC) has paid a financial penalty of $100,000. The head of the firm's conveyancing department, Mr Tan Chau Chuang, has been referred to the Law Society.
ALC acted for nine clients to convey 25 properties valued at around $135 million in total.
Among other breaches, the firm 'did not corroborate or verify the clients' explanations for why the transactions were being funded by seemingly unrelated third parties, even though these were red flags', the ministry said.
ALC also continued to undertake transactions for some of these clients despite filing Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) against them.
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Fortis Law Corporation (FLC) paid a financial penalty of $30,000. Two of its lawyers, Mr Andrew Wong Wei Kiat (who is no longer practising at FLC) and Mr Patrick Tan Tse Chia, were referred to the Law Society.
The firm had acted for 16 clients to convey 55 properties valued at around $398.7 million in total.
It did not verify the clients' claims that the payments for the transactions were indeed from legitimate remittance companies, MinLaw said.
Legal Solutions LLC (LS) has been ordered to pay $70,000. Lawyer Patrick Ee Tian Huat, who is no longer practising at LS, was referred to the Law Society.
LS had acted for two clients to convey 20 properties valued at around $117 million in total.
MinLaw said the firm had not done all the required enhanced customer due diligence measures after it filed an STR, such as documenting its internal discussions on, and reasons for, retaining the clients despite filing the STR.
The ministry reprimanded three law firms to remind them to be mindful of their anti-money laundering obligations and responsibilities, it said.
Among them was Malkin & Maxwell LLP, which had acted for one client to convey one property valued at around $40 million.
The other two firms were: William Poh & Louis Lim (WPLL), now Louis Lim & Partners, and Templars Law LLC (TL).
Mr William Poh Tian Hock, the former managing partner of WPLL until around May 2023, was also referred to the Law Society.
Until May 2023, Mr Poh had commenced transactions for six clients to convey 32 properties valued at around $246.7 million in total.
Twenty-six of these property transactions were concluded while Mr Poh was practising in WPLL.
He left WPLL in May 2023 to join TL, and WPLL was renamed Louis Lim & Partners.
Mr Poh brought the remaining six property transactions to TL and concluded the transactions soon after in June 2023.
MinLaw said that the fees that each law practice had collected in total from acting for their clients for these transactions ranged from $15,000 to around $170,000.
In July, MinLaw said it was supporting the DLS in conducting inquiries into the law practices that were involved in the conveyancing of the real estate seized in an anti-money laundering operation in August 2023.
The DLS heads the Legal Services Regulatory Authority, which is a department under MinLaw that oversees the regulation of all law practice entities and the registration of foreign lawyers in Singapore.
Among its roles, the Law Society maintains the standards of conduct of the legal profession in Singapore.
MinLaw added that a law practice that breaches its anti-money laundering obligations can face regulatory control action against its licence.
Singapore's largest case of money laundering involving $3 billion in cash and assets saw 10 foreigners arrested in multiple islandwide raids here on Aug 15, 2023.
The nine men and one woman, who were originally from Fujian, China, were jailed, deported and barred from re-entering Singapore.
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$3b money laundering case: MinLaw names 6 law firms involved
The Ministry of Law (MinLaw) has named the three law firms penalised for anti-money laundering breaches over the purchase of properties in Singapore's largest case of money laundering involving $3 billion. The ministry also named another three law practices it has reprimanded for their involvement in the property deals, and the five lawyers referred to the Law Society for potential disciplinary action. In a statement on Aug 1, MinLaw said the Director of Legal Services (DLS) has now dealt with 13 out of the 24 law practices that were involved in the property deals. Inquiries into the remaining 11 firms are ongoing. Anthony Law Corporation (ALC) has paid a financial penalty of $100,000. The head of the firm's conveyancing department, Mr Tan Chau Chuang, has been referred to the Law Society. ALC acted for nine clients to convey 25 properties valued at around $135 million in total. Among other breaches, the firm "did not corroborate or verify the clients' explanations for why the transactions were being funded by seemingly unrelated third parties, even though these were red flags", the ministry said. ALC also continued to undertake transactions for some of these clients despite filing Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) against them. Fortis Law Corporation (FLC) paid a financial penalty of $30,000. Two of its lawyers, Mr Andrew Wong Wei Kiat (who is no longer practising at FLC) and Mr Patrick Tan Tse Chia, were referred to the Law Society. The firm had acted for 16 clients to convey 55 properties valued at around $398.7 million in total. It did not verify the clients' claims that the payments for the transactions were indeed from legitimate remittance companies, MinLaw said. Legal Solutions LLC (LS) has been ordered to pay $70,000. Lawyer Patrick Ee Tian Huat, who is no longer practising at LS, was referred to the Law Society. LS had acted for two clients to convey 20 properties valued at around $117 million in total. MinLaw said the firm had not done all the required enhanced customer due diligence measures after it filed an STR, such as documenting its internal discussions on, and reasons for, retaining the clients despite filing the STR. The ministry reprimanded three law firms to remind them to be mindful of their anti-money laundering obligations and responsibilities, it said. Among them was Malkin & Maxwell LLP, which had acted for one client to convey one property valued at around $40 million. The other two firms were: William Poh & Louis Lim (WPLL), now Louis Lim & Partners, and Templars Law LLC (TL). Mr William Poh Tian Hock, the former managing partner of WPLL until around May 2023, was also referred to the Law Society. Until May 2023, Mr Poh had commenced transactions for six clients to convey 32 properties valued at around $246.7 million in total. Twenty-six of these property transactions were concluded while Mr Poh was practising at WPLL. He left WPLL in May 2023 to join TL, and WPLL was renamed Louis Lim & Partners. Mr Poh brought the remaining six property transactions to TL and concluded the transactions soon after in June 2023. MinLaw said that the fees that each law practice had collected in total from acting for their clients for these transactions ranged from $15,000 to around $170,000. In July, MinLaw said it was supporting the DLS in conducting inquiries into the law practices that were involved in the conveyancing of the real estate seized in an anti-money laundering operation in August 2023. The DLS heads the Legal Services Regulatory Authority, which is a department under MinLaw that oversees the regulation of all law practice entities and the registration of foreign lawyers in Singapore. Among its roles, the Law Society maintains the standards of conduct of the legal profession in Singapore. MinLaw added that a law practice that breaches its anti-money laundering obligations can face regulatory control action against its licence. Singapore's largest case of money laundering involving $3 billion in cash and assets saw 10 foreigners arrested in multiple islandwide raids here on Aug 15, 2023. The nine men and one woman, who were originally from Fujian, China, were jailed, deported and barred from re-entering Singapore.
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