Clause 20

This section shall apply where the material sought in respect of a foreign drug trafficking offence or a foreign serious offence, as the case may be, is in the possession of a financial institution and sections 31 and 32 shall not apply to such material.(2) The Attorney-General or any person duly authorised by him in writing may apply to the High Court for a search warrant under this section in relation to any particular material in a specified premises in respect of an investigation into a foreign drug trafficking offence or a foreign serious offence, as the case may be, if he is satisfied that the conditions in subsection (3) are fulfilled and the High Court may, if it thinks fit, issue such a search warrant.(3) The conditions referred to in subsection (2) are —

that there exists a mutual legal assistance treaty, memorandum of understanding or other agreement in drug-related matters or criminal matters, as the case may be, between Singapore and the foreign government and the conditions therein have been fulfilled in respect of any particular request for assistance from the Attorney-General, which conditions shall be in addition to and not in derogation of the conditions in this subsection;

that the foreign authority has agreed to provide reciprocal assistance in drug-related matters or criminal matters, as the case may be, to Singapore;

that the foreign drug trafficking offence or foreign serious offence, as the case may be, which is the subject of the investigation constitutes an offence against the law of, or of a part of, the state of the foreign authority and the act or omission constituting the offence or the equivalent act or omission would, if it had occurred in Singapore, have constituted a drug trafficking offence or a serious offence, as the case may be;

that the seriousness of the foreign drug trafficking offence or foreign serious offence under investigation, as the case may be, is of sufficient gravity and the material which is the subject of the application is of sufficient importance to the investigation and whether the material could not reasonably be obtained by other means;

that the application is not likely to prejudice the sovereignty, security or national interest of Singapore;

that it is not contrary to the public interest to give the assistance sought;

that the foreign authority undertakes that the material sought pursuant to a search warrant under this section shall not be used for any other purposes except for the investigation of the foreign drug trafficking offence or foreign serious offence, as the case may be, or for the prosecution of the offender concerned and the material shall be returned to the Attorney-General upon completion of the investigation or proceedings against the offender;

that there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that a specified person has carried on or has benefited from drug trafficking or criminal conduct, as the case may be;

that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the material to which the application relates —

is likely to be of substantial value (whether by itself or together with other material) to the investigation for the purpose of which the application is made; and

does not consist of or include items subject to legal privilege; and (j)such other conditions as the Minister may prescribe.(4) A financial institution which complies with a warrant issued under subsection (2) shall not be treated as being in breach of any restriction upon the disclosure of information or material imposed by law, contract or rules of professional conduct.(5) No action shall lie against a financial institution which in good faith produces materials or gives access to materials relating to the account of its customer by reason of that financial institution having produced or given access to the materials in compliance with a warrant issued under subsection (2) or any act done or omitted to be done in relation to any funds, investment or property in the account of that customer in consequence of the production of or access to those materials.(6) In this section, "items subject to legal privilege" has the same meaning as in section 33(2).Division 3 — Obligations of financial institutionsInterpretation of this Division35.—

In this Division —“financial transaction document”, in relation to a financial institution, means any document that relates to a financial transaction carried out by the institution in its capacity as a financial institution, and includes but is not limited to a document that relates to —

the opening or closing by a person of an account with the institution;

the operation by a person of an account with the institution;

the opening or use by a person of a deposit box held by the institution;

the telegraphic or electronic transfer of funds by the institution on behalf of a person to another person;

the transmission of funds between Singapore and a foreign country or between foreign countries on behalf of a person;

an application by a person for a loan from the institution (where a loan is made to the person pursuant to the application); or

records of customer identification;“minimum retention period”, in relation to a financial transaction document of a financial institution, means —

if the document relates to the opening of an account with the institution, the period of 6 years after the day on which the account is closed;

if the document relates to the opening by a person of a deposit box held by the institution, the period of 6 years after the day on which the deposit box ceases to be used by the person; or

in any other case, the period of 6 years after the day on which the transaction takes place.(2) In sections 36 and 37, a reference to a copy includes a copy retained in the form of microfilm, microfiche, electronic records in accordance with section 9(1) of the Electronic Transactions Act 1998 (Act 25 of 1998) or such other form as the Monetary Authority of Singapore may approve.Retention of records by financial institutions36.—

A financial institution shall retain, or retain a copy of, each financial transaction document for the minimum retention period applicable to the document.(2) A financial institution required to retain documents under this section shall retain and store them in a manner that makes retrieval of the documents reasonably practicable.(3) A financial institution that contravenes subsection (1) or (2) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000.(4) This section does not limit any other obligation of a financial institution to retain documents.Register of original documents37.—

Where a financial institution is required by law to release an original of a financial transaction document before the end of the minimum retention period applicable to the document, the institution shall retain a complete copy of the document until the period has ended or the original is returned, whichever occurs first.(2) The financial institution shall maintain a register of documents released under subsection (1).(3) A financial institution that contravenes subsection (1) or (2) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000.Duty to disclose knowledge or suspicion38.—

Where a person knows or has reasonable grounds to suspect that any property —

in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, represents the proceeds of;

was used in connection with; or

is intended to be used in connection with,drug trafficking or criminal conduct, as the case may be, and the information or matter on which the knowledge or suspicion is based came to his attention in the course of his trade, profession, business or employment, he shall disclose the knowledge or suspicion or the information or other matter on which that knowledge or suspicion is based to an authorised officer as soon as is reasonably practicable after it comes to his attention.(2) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000.(3) The Minister may, by regulations, prescribe requirements for any person or class of persons in relation to the circumstances, manner and means of disclosure required under subsection (1).(4) Subsection (1) or (2) does not make it an offence for an advocate and solicitor or his clerks or employees or an interpreter to fail to disclose any information or other matter which are items subject to legal privilege.(5) It is a defence to a charge of committing an offence under this section that the person charged had a reasonable excuse for not disclosing the information or other matter in question.(6) Where a person discloses to an authorised officer —

his knowledge or suspicion of the matters referred to in subsection (1)(a), (b) or (c); or

any information or other matter on which that knowledge or suspicion is based,the disclosure shall not be treated as a breach of any restriction upon the disclosure imposed by law, contract or rules of professional conduct and he shall not be liable for any loss arising out of the disclosure or any act or omission in consequence of the disclosure.(7) Without prejudice to subsection (5) or (6), in the case of a person who was in employment at the time in question, it is a defence to a charge of committing an offence under this section that he disclosed the information or other matter in question to the appropriate person in accordance with the procedure established by his employer for the making of such disclosures.(8) A disclosure to which subsection (7) applies shall not be treated as a breach of any restriction imposed by law, contract or rules of professional conduct.(9) In this section, “items subject to legal privilege” has the same meaning as in section 33(2).”.