SINGAPORE, Nov 21 — Singapore’s prime minister, Lawrence Wong, has insisted the city state will remain uncompromising in its fight against illicit money flows, following a string of high-profile investigations that have drawn scrutiny of its status as a magnet for global wealth.
Speaking at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum gala dinner on Wednesday, and reported by AsiaOne, Wong rejected suggestions that Singapore’s “big push to lure” wealthy foreigners had inadvertently created opportunities for criminals to stash illicit assets in the country.
The question came in the wake of a S$3bn (RM10 billion) money-laundering probe last year, in which 10 foreign nationals were arrested, and a new case in October involving more than S$150 million in seized assets linked to Cambodia-based Prince Holding Group and its founder, Chen Zhi.
Chen, 38, has been charged in the United States for allegedly orchestrating a vast cryptocurrency scam that prosecutors say relied on forced labour camps in Cambodia.
“We do have quite a big fly swatter,” Wong reportedly said to laughter at the event in Clifford Pier, after Bloomberg’s editor-in-chief, John Micklethwait, pressed him on “how many flies can Singapore tolerate”.
The prime minister stressed that illicit financial activity was a challenge faced by all major financial hubs, not a problem “unique to Singapore”.
What mattered, he said, was the country’s response.
“The key is, what do you do? We are very stringent, and we take swift action,” Wong said, according to the Singapore-based media organisation.
Authorities, he added, “are determined to protect our reputation because that is what keeps Singapore going — a trusted business and financial centre.”
Wong was also asked whether the growing presence of ultra-rich foreign residents was heightening public unease over inequality.
Singapore’s Gini coefficient — which measures income disparity — has fallen to its lowest level in more than two decades, aided by government transfers such as the Progressive Wage Model, utility rebates and CDC vouchers.
The inflow of wealth, however, brings its own tensions.
“Sometimes it creates frictions, especially when they are ostentatious, shows off Ferraris,” Wong said, as cited by AsiaOne.
“We have just to remind them — Singapore is a different society. We are egalitarian, our norms are different, please understand. And for the most part, they do.”
The prime minister said Singapore would continue welcoming family offices and high-net-worth individuals who choose to manage their funds in the city, emphasising the jobs and opportunities they generate for Singaporeans — while making clear the government would not compromise on the rules that underpin its reputation.
