Singapore authorities rated the money laundering threat from the country’s physical casinos as “medium to high” but said they were less attractive to criminals than other industries.
A recent report released by Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Law and Monetary Authority outlined these money laundering risks and highlighted online gambling as a particular concern.
For brick-and-mortar casinos such as Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa, the report said casinos present a money laundering risk due to patrons using proceeds of crime with the intent to conceal their origin. This risk is exacerbated by the nature of casinos’ cash-intensive operations and their ability to store and transfer funds across borders.
However, the report noted that casinos in Singapore have not been found to be directly involved in money laundering activities, and there are few cases of converting criminal proceeds into casino chips for self-laundering. Most suspicious transaction reports filed by casinos involve violations of the Casino Management Act rather than money laundering.
The report explains that the randomness and unpredictability of gambling results make casinos a less attractive option for money laundering because criminals are likely to lose a large portion of their proceeds. It is more common for criminals to use their crime proceeds for gambling rather than laundering them.
In contrast, online gambling poses a higher risk of money laundering due to its lucrative and transnational nature. The report cites a recent $3 billion money laundering case involving illegal online gambling sites in the Philippines, which led to the arrest of several people involved in Singapore.
Despite strict regulation, it is easy to set up and shut down websites and host them outside of Singapore. Criminal gangs also use alternative payment methods such as cryptocurrencies, making it more difficult to detect suspicious transactions.
The report also highlighted that foreign and cyber fraud, as well as the banking sector, pose significant money laundering threats to Singapore.
