7/22/2016

3 big banks, DBS, UBS and Stanchart, serious lapses in AML

I can expect the foreign banks to be involved in money laundering activities as many have been charged in the US and fined by the billions. It is looking like the main business of many big banks, to make big money to be paid big bucks. Were UBS and Stanchart also fined in the US for such ‘lapses’, not intentional money laundering? Anyone can confirm this?

DBS is as good as the national bank and to be found with anti money laundering lapses is a big surprise. It cannot be and definitely cannot be intentional. It must be due do some low level staff’s carelessness. DBS would never get stuck in this kind of shit. DBS would be the one setting the standard for everyone to follow, the flag bearer of Singapore, the cleanest and most incorruptible country in Asia.

I can swear DBS is clean and blameless. I have seen how it operates and have attended AML classes umpteen times, at least twice a year to remind us, little boys on the floor to be aware of money laundering activities. Anyone making payments of more than ten or twenty thousand dollars in cash would have to make a statement to declare where the money came from.

Here we are talking about millions, hundreds of millions. How can there be lapses for such big sums of money passing through the banks for so long and no one noticed, no one escalated this to higher management? The external parties transferring such monies must be very sophisticated to be undetected. They are professional money launderers, so cannot blame the bank staff. I am sure they have done their best and would have gone through intensive training on anti money laundering and would have known one if they saw one.

Trust DBS would do all the right things to check on money laundering. Not to be alarmed.  Everything is fine. It happened everywhere, in every big banks, in UBS, in Stanchart and in many big banks in the US and Europe.  It is part of the business risk in the industry. We are so lucky this is the first time it happened. I am sure nothing of this would ever happen again. All the holes would be plucked.

My only reservation is that little people like us would have to attend many many more AML courses to make sure we know what is money laundering and check on our clients closely, to know our clients well. We will make very sure that our little clients would not be involved in money laundering at our low level, at ground zero.

20 comments:

jjgg said...

RB ..control lapses are in the news today..u are right...there are no control lapses in dibs n the other banks..what was done was deliberate n over a Long period of time with the knowledge of both internal n external Auditors alike...so.. How can it be a lapse? More interesting is ahtc supposed lapses..kpmg have their own checklist of what a lapse is ..so does pw and all ah ter/ah kow auditing firms...compare their checkl n you'll probably find a lapse in controls if you forget to switch off the office lights before going home...))) what about journal entries? So many of them 45000+ I would imagine that so Long as the correct person approves the journal entries then it should be case closed...bearing in mind the tumultuous period when ahtc has to do the accounts without the aid of historical data...kpmg didn't acquit themselves well..despite all the control lapses, they couldn't find 1 cent missing n the officers of ahtc emerged heroes. TIME TO APPOINT ANOTHER SET OF REPORTING ACCOUNTANTS.....hehe

Anonymous said...

Trust DBS would do all the right things to check on money laundering. Not to be alarmed.
RB

Tiok. But even if DBS did not do all the right things, I think the Sinkie opposition will still not be ready to be govt. So most likely PAP will continue to win 70% votes in a GE and also in a by election, even in a straight fight with Chee Soon Juan like in Bukit Batok.

Just look at our neighbour PM Najib. If Najib can still survive and even win elections, why not Hsien Loong, who although quite screw up at times as PM but is very clean? So not to be alarmed, I mean for Hsien Loong.

Veritas said...

I feel najib is "unfairly" targeted. Corruptions is the EASIEST crime to catch but why target only najib. The white man land keep shouting country XYZ in shit because of corruption, falling short of fingering who really corrupt.

It is a matter of keystroke in front of PC to expose corruption. When you steal 1 million, it is not so easy to trace. If you still 100 million, you leave behind a trace of accountant, attorneys, bankers, shell companies..

The world is actually a conspiracy of silence.

Anonymous said...

What can I say? On the surface they are big and respectable. Underneath they are as dirty as every global big banks. The only thing is that these big banks never wash their dirty linens in public, so we do not know how dirty their hands are. And with the help of the powers that be, in connections above and under the blanket, they make all the money from the poor, elderly peasants. Karma may be late in coming, but I hope it works.

Anonymous said...


Worry not! Worry not!

We are world best!

If we are second best, no one no one dares to be number one!

Yes! We are always the best! World best! World number one!

Cheers.

Anonymous said...

It was a free publicity for one of the bank mentioned by Reuters report world wide on July 16. The big logo caught my eyes first.

Money laundering works to US s disadvantage is so obvious. Recent month an Indonesian Hartawan by name, was sent back to Indon for his crime committed in 2008. And he fled to one place considered cleanest in corruption, but not world top now. He was superman. He stole S$646millions. The money is enough to buy 600+ Ferrari running on the metal roads, with sound "bom bom bom", one traffic light to another, for those slave citizens with "kars" to look with admiration: "rich" is rich, poor is forever citizen. Buy toto is the reminder, the state earns some dollars liao.

The Indonesian govt has a list of thieves stole its money. The US has it lists too. But this one is different, the Malaysian had a company with 4.2 billions missing. No one is accountable and why also did not know. However, US FBI found at least 1 billion is floating in US market. Beysong leh. How can stolen money got floated in US? So the trace was done. Boh haut to liao, one cleanest free of corruption place had traces of flows. To show US it is a clean place, some actions were taken.
US likes to point finger at China as corrupted. One china man was shown with handcuff landed in Beijing with china policemen escort in media world wide. This criminal was sent from a very small country corruption free.
It looks like the wheel of fortune for those running away with stolen money will not find corruption free place to wash the corrupted money. What do u think?

I think it is good to have a clean world with laws against corrupted individuals, not a clean US China exercising laws against corruption, while some countries are receiving corrupted funds.

Its like cleaning pest, one single unit can clean to pest free? It will be effective if the whole block is cleaned to ensure pest free. This method is well known to slave folks, but not so much convincing to politicians in some countries. However, world trend on corrupted funds flows is real, as it is initiated from US s laws, and China s firm actions.

Anonymous said...

Would there be a coup to topple Najib?

Anonymous said...

"When we discovered the suspicious transactions, we reported them and have been fully cooperating with the relevant authorities. We have strengthened our anti-money laundering controls and processes and will continue to play an active role in the fight against financial crime,” the emailed reply said.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Can we use this as a standard reply template?

"When we discovered Mas Selamat missing" we reported straight away and have been fully cooperating with the relevant authorities. We have strengthened our anti-prison escape controls and processes and will continue to play an active role in the fight against escaping prisoner-terrorist” the emailed reply said.


"When we discovered the suspicious hair line cracks on the trains, we reported them and have been fully cooperating with the relevant authorities. We have strengthened our quality controls controls and processes and will continue to play an active role in the fight against poor quality trains,” the emailed reply said.

Anonymous said...

/// My only reservation is that little people like us would have to attend many many more AML courses to make sure we know what is money laundering and check on our clients closely, to know our clients well. ///

Is this PAP or Singaporean hypocrisy?

What about the old 5th million (or whatever millionth visitor) visitor to Singapore?
Why always only from Changi Airport?
Why never from the millions of Indonesian arriving in Batam ferries?

Veritas said...

Najib is too stupid too corrupt via 1MDB. He should open a Najib-and-Najib model after Lee and Lee, and make sure HDB contract goes to it.

Possibly Lee-and-Lee model took a longer time for wealth accumulation. Najib is impatient.

And who in UMNO is clean?

Mahathir Son is now the 28th riches base on publicly listed companies, probably just 10% of his wealth. If one is able to dig out all his private vehicle, Mahathir could be 10x richer than Najib.

Anonymous said...

Maybank not affected.
UOB not affected.
OCBC not affected.

Why ah?

Veritas said...

UOB and OCBC are family run business. Such model have been vilified by western capitalist, and whore economist. In reality, family run business have several advantage over manager run. (family business have disadvantage as well)

Economics textbook tends to downplay the fact that professional managers tends to loot a company try. If business is in the hands of family members, they will grow the business, and take a long term view.

Family business may take part in criminal fraud. But it appears that professional managers, especially Indians CEO are super talent in turning business into a horrible scam.

ALL Indian infested bank are super dynamite.

Duetschebank, CEO Anshu Jain, world biggest derivative cooker today
Citi CEO Vikram, world biggest derivative cooker 2008

b said...

Everyone does AML but only those that got caught ended up in media. Usually when banks committed fault, they will not end up in jail. Paying fines will do. They are above the laws.

Anonymous said...

Duetschebank, CEO Anshu Jain, world biggest derivative cooker today
Citi CEO Vikram, world biggest derivative cooker 2008
July 22, 2016 2:54 pm

Sure or not?
What about DBS, StanChart or UBS?

Veritas said...

DBS is a PAP bank, back by Puyish Gupta, central banker Ravi Menon, Tharman finance minister. I wont be surprise it become a cesspool of scam.

The OCBC and UOB guys are pussy enough and know the limits. They know USA are after them. USA hates the Chinese power in SE Asia, and in all possible ways, side with native against Chinese.

So far, the local Chinese banks have involve in scam, but not as terrible enough compared to all other scandals. I am not sure if more dirt in under the table.

The Indians bankers have a lot of guts. In white man land, their aim is to blow up the banks, and cook at book, get the bonus before scam get expose.

How SG will fare. I dono.

Anonymous said...

DBS is a PAP bank, back by Puyish Gupta, central banker Ravi Menon, Tharman finance minister.
July 22, 2016 3:28 pm

First I feel so rich after reading my CPF statement.
Now I feel so safe after reading this.

Anonymous said...

Najib is too stupid too corrupt via 1MDB.
Veritas 2:43 pm

Even if true, that's Ok because Najib can afford to be stupid and corrupt. And he is still surviving as PM, isn't he?

Just as PAP can afford to have lots of screw ups that screw Sinkies. And PAP can even win a by election in a straight fight with Chee Soon Juan, isn't it? So it's OK for PAP to have screw ups.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

Veritas, just deleted your post.

When you are talking about international matters, I can be more lax about the content. When you used strong words and comments on local matters especially on race and religion, they are unacceptable as they would bruise the feelings and senstivity of people affected. Like it or not we are living in a multi racial and multi religious society. Cannot be too free in this aspect.

Veritas said...

I have pointed out inconvenient truth and what many Chinese try to avoid. Our minorities HATE us. The more virtuous we are they hate us more.

They lie.

Anonymous said...

Let the Americans to screw them up nice and proper. Najib first, who is next?