Published by The Straits Times – 10th Oct 2017
SINGAPORE – Following the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) comments on a probe involving the Guernsey and Singapore offices of Standard Chartered Bank, the bank said it is working closely with regulators.
A StanChart spokesman said on Tuesday (Oct 10): “The bank conducted a full account review of the relevant trust structures following the transfers, and proactively made a report to the relevant authorities.
“The bank is currently working closely with regulators, and therefore we are unable to provide any more information.”
The transfer of US$1.4 billion (S$1.9 billion) of private bank client assets from the English Channel isle of Guernsey to Singapore was made before new tax transparency rules were introduced.
These assets were held in the bank’s Guernsey trust unit for mainly Indonesian clients, and were moved in late 2015, Bloomberg reported on Oct 5. StanChart closed operations on the island last year.
In response to queries from The Straits Times, MAS said on Monday night that it takes a serious view of the transfer between the Guernsey and Singapore offices of Standard Chartered Bank.
