Moneylenders (Prevention of Money Laundering, Terrorism Financing and Proliferation Financing) Rules 2009

money laundering;

terrorism financing; and

proliferation financing.

identified under rule 5B; or (b)notified to the moneylender by the Registrar or any relevant law enforcement authority.

monitor the implementation of the policies, procedures and controls referred to in paragraph (1); and

enhance those policies, procedures and controls where necessary, if a higher risk of money laundering, terrorism financing or proliferation financing is —

identified under rule 5B; or (ii)notified to the moneylender by the Registrar or any relevant law enforcement authority.

approved by the senior management of the moneylender; and

communicated to the employees and officers of the moneylender.

CDD measures;

record keeping;

detection of unusual or suspicious applications or transactions, and the making of disclosures under section 45(1) of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992 or Part 3 of the Terrorism (Suppression of Financing) Act 2002;

audit of the policies, procedures and controls;

compliance management arrangements; (f)the hiring, appointment and training of employees and officers; and

measures to determine if a borrower, an agent of a borrower, any connected party of a borrower, or any beneficial owner of a borrower is a politically-exposed person.

develop a group policy to —

prevent money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing; and

manage and mitigate the risks of money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing; and

extend the group policy to all of those branches and subsidiaries.

the moneylender must require the management of that branch or subsidiary to apply the more stringent of the laws, to the extent that the law of the country outside Singapore permits; and (b)where the management of that branch or subsidiary is unable to fully apply the more stringent law, the moneylender must report this to the Registrar and must, instead of sub-paragraph (a) —

perform such additional measures as are appropriate to managing the risks of money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing; and

comply with such directions as may be given by the Registrar.

the borrowers and their agents, connected parties and beneficial owners; (b)the countries the borrowers and their agents, connected parties and beneficial owners reside or operate in; (c)the countries the moneylender has operations in; (d)the products, services, transactions and manner by which the loans are disbursed and repaid; and

the size of the moneylender’s business.

documenting the moneylender’s risk assessments; (b)considering all the relevant risks before determining the level of the overall risk and the appropriate type and extent of mitigation to be applied;

keeping the risk assessments up to date; (d)having appropriate mechanisms to provide any information required by the Registrar under paragraph (3); and

before launching a new product or new business practice (including a new manner for disbursing or repaying loans), or using a new or developing technology for any new or existing product, identifying and assessing the risks that may arise in relation to the product, practice or technology, and taking appropriate measures to mitigate such risks.

intends to grant, or is considering the grant of, a relevant loan to the borrower;

suspects that the borrower or any agent, connected party or beneficial owner of the borrower is engaged in money laundering, terrorism financing or proliferation financing; or

has doubts about the veracity or adequacy of any information previously obtained from the borrower.

has acquired at the same time all corresponding customer records (including customer identification information) and has no doubt or concern about the veracity or adequacy of the information so acquired; and (b)has conducted due diligence enquiries that have not raised any doubt on the part of the acquiring moneylender as to the adequacy of measures for the prevention of money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing previously adopted in relation to the business or the part of the business acquired by the acquiring moneylender.

ensuring compliance with the laws for the prevention of money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing; and (b)determining if there are any risks of money laundering, terrorism financing or proliferation financing in any business relation or transaction or proposed business relation or transaction, a moneylender must —

evaluate every borrower and every agent, connected party and beneficial owner of a borrower, to determine if they are terrorists or terrorist entities within the meaning of the Terrorism (Suppression of Financing) Act 2002; and

screen every borrower and every agent, connected party and beneficial owner of a borrower, against —

any lists and information provided by the Registrar and any relevant law enforcement authority; and

any other source of information relating to money laundering, terrorism financing or proliferation financing, as the Registrar may direct.

at the time the moneylender intends to grant, or is considering the grant of, a relevant loan to a borrower;

on a periodic basis after the moneylender establishes a business relation with a borrower; (c)whenever there is a change of or an update to the lists and information provided by the Registrar or any relevant law enforcement authority to the moneylender; and

whenever there is any change to an agent of a borrower, a connected party of a borrower or a beneficial owner of a borrower.

any CDD measures previously performed on that borrower, agent, connected party or beneficial owner, including any measures performed before 1 September 2015 in accordance with these Rules in force before that date;

the time those measures were last applied; and (c)the adequacy of the documents and information obtained from such previous application.

perform those initial CDD measures that are applicable to the borrower, agent, connected party or beneficial owner, in accordance with rule 6(3); (b)perform those ongoing CDD measures that are applicable to the borrower, agent, connected party or beneficial owner, in accordance with rule 6(3A); and

perform those measures referred to in rule 6A(1) that are applicable to the borrower, agent, connected party or beneficial owner, in accordance with rule 6A(2), (3) and (4).

the moneylender is of the view that the risks of money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing are low; (b)either —

the moneylender has obtained the prior written approval of the Registrar to do so; or (ii)the borrower, agent, connected party or beneficial owner comes within a class or description of borrowers, or agents, connected parties or beneficial owners of borrowers, designated by the Registrar for the purposes of this paragraph;

the moneylender documents —

the details of the risk assessment undertaken; and

the nature of the simplified CDD measures applied; (d)the simplified CDD measures are commensurate with the level of the risks of money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing identified by the moneylender; and

where sub-paragraph (b)(i) applies, the moneylender complies with all conditions and restrictions imposed by the Registrar when giving the written approval.

in relation to which the FATF has called for countermeasures; or

known to have inadequate measures for the prevention of money laundering, terrorism financing or proliferation financing.

the risks of money laundering, terrorism financing or proliferation financing are high; or (b)the simplified CDD measures proposed by the moneylender will not effectively achieve the objective of any CDD measure.

the borrower or the borrower’s agent (if any) is a politically-exposed person; or

where the borrower is an entity or a legal arrangement, the borrower has a connected party or beneficial owner who is a politically-exposed person.

documenting, during the course of the business relation or when undertaking a transaction with or for the borrower, each movement of funds in the account used for disbursing or repaying a loan, and assessing the likelihood of the account being used in connection with any of the following activities:

money laundering;

terrorism financing;

proliferation financing; and

establishing by appropriate and reasonable means the source of wealth and source of funds of the borrower or beneficial owner.

has identified any borrower or any agent, connected party or beneficial owner of a borrower to be a politically-exposed person; or

subsequently comes to know that any borrower or any agent, connected party or beneficial owner of a borrower is or was a politically-exposed person,must obtain a decision from the moneylender’s senior management on whether to establish or maintain the business relation with the borrower.

a domestic politically-exposed person; (b)a politically-exposed person of an international organisation; or

a politically-exposed person who has stepped down from a prominent public function, taking into consideration the level of influence the person continues to exercise after stepping down from that function.

A is a partner of B;

A is an employee or employer of B;

A is an officer of any corporation of which B is an officer;

A is an employee of an individual of whom B is an employee;

A is accustomed or under an obligation, whether formal or informal, to act in accordance with the directions, instructions or wishes of B;

B is accustomed or under an obligation, whether formal or informal, to act in accordance with the directions, instructions or wishes of A; (g)A is a person with whom B has an agreement or arrangement, whether oral or in writing and whether express or implied, to act together to apply for or obtain a loan from a moneylender; or

A is closely connected with B socially or professionally in any manner not specified in sub-paragraphs (a) to (g).

all complex or unusually large relevant loans or unusual patterns of relevant loans that have no apparent or visible economic or lawful purpose; (b)relevant loans granted to any person —

from or in countries outside Singapore in relation to which the FATF has called for countermeasures, as notified by the Registrar; or

from or in countries outside Singapore known to have inadequate measures for the prevention of money laundering, terrorism financing or proliferation financing —

as determined by the moneylender; or (B)as notified to moneylenders generally by the Registrar, a relevant law enforcement authority or a relevant foreign regulatory authority; and

any other categories of borrowers, agents, connected parties or beneficial owners of borrowers, or relevant loans which the moneylender considers may present, or are notified by the Registrar, a relevant law enforcement authority or a relevant foreign regulatory authority as presenting, a high risk of money laundering, terrorism financing or proliferation financing.

the moneylender has obtained the prior written approval of the Registrar to do so; and

the moneylender complies with all conditions and restrictions imposed by the Registrar when giving the approval.

the specified third party is subject to, and supervised for compliance with, requirements relating to the prevention of money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing, consistent with standards set by the FATF, and has adequate measures in place to comply with those requirements; (b)the specified third party is not one which moneylenders have been precluded by the Registrar from relying on to perform CDD measures;

the information to be obtained by the specified third party from performing CDD measures can be relayed to the moneylender without delay; (d)the specified third party is able and willing to provide without delay, upon the request of the moneylender, any document obtained by the specified third party from performing any CDD measure; and

the moneylender has taken appropriate steps to identify, assess and understand the risks of money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing particular to any country outside Singapore that the specified third party operates in (if applicable).

a bank in Singapore licensed under section 7 of the Banking Act 1970;

a merchant bank approved under section 55S of the Banking Act 1970;

a finance company licensed under section 6 of the Finance Companies Act 1967;

a financial adviser licensed under section 10 of the Financial Advisers Act 2001, except one which is licensed only in respect of the financial advisory service specified in paragraph 2 of the Second Schedule to that Act (namely, advising others by issuing or promulgating research analyses or research reports, whether in electronic, print or other form, concerning any investment product);

a holder of a capital markets services licence granted under section 86 of the Securities and Futures Act 2001;

[Deleted by S 635/2024 wef 01/08/2024](g)a person who is exempt from holding a financial adviser’s licence under section 20(1)(g) of the Financial Advisers Act 2001 read with regulation 27(1)(d) of the Financial Advisers Regulations (Rg 2), except one who is exempt only in respect of the financial advisory service specified in paragraph 2 of the Second Schedule to that Act (namely, advising others by issuing or promulgating research analyses or research reports, whether in electronic, print or other form, concerning any investment product); or

such other person as the Registrar may specify.

a moneylender is unable to complete performing the CDD measures for any reason; (b)a borrower is unable or unwilling to provide any information requested by the moneylender, or decides to withdraw the application for a loan when requested to provide information;

a loan is granted, to be granted or would have been granted to a person —

whom the moneylender knows or ought reasonably to know is a politically-exposed person; or

from or in a country outside Singapore known to have inadequate measures for the prevention of money laundering, terrorism financing or proliferation financing —

as determined by the moneylender; or

as notified to moneylenders generally by the Registrar, a relevant law enforcement authority or a relevant foreign regulatory authority;

a loan is part of an unusual pattern of loans with no apparent economic or lawful purpose; or

any other circumstance exists for the making of a disclosure under section 45(1) of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992 or Part 3 of the Terrorism (Suppression of Financing) Act 2002,the moneylender concerned —

if a business relation has yet to be entered into, must not enter into one with the borrower concerned; and

if the transaction or loan in question has yet to be entered into or granted, must not enter into the transaction or grant the loan.

document the basis for the moneylender’s determination as to whether a disclosure under section 45(1) of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992 or Part 3 of the Terrorism (Suppression of Financing) Act 2002 should be made; and

where the moneylender has made such disclosure —

submit a copy of the document by which the disclosure is made to the Registrar; and

keep a record of the transaction in question, together with the findings of the moneylender and analysis done by the moneylender concerning the transaction, for a period of at least 5 years beginning on the date of the transaction.

enable any single transaction of the moneylender to be reconstructed (including the amount of principal and interest and the type of currency) so as to provide, if necessary, evidence for prosecution of any criminal activity; (b)enable the Registrar and any relevant law enforcement authority, as well as both the internal and external auditors of the moneylender, to review the business relations of the moneylender, the moneylender’s transactions, and information obtained from performing CDD measures, and to assess the level of the moneylender’s compliance with these Rules; and

enable the moneylender to comply with any duty under any written law to provide a record on a relevant loan, or any information in the record, to the Registrar or any relevant law enforcement authority by the time prescribed by or imposed pursuant to the written law or, if no time is so prescribed or imposed, within a reasonable time.

retain, until a date that is at least 5 years after the end date in relation to a borrower —

any information obtained from performing CDD measures on the borrower or any agent, connected party or beneficial owner of the borrower, including the moneylender’s assessment of the information and the results of any screening under rule 6A; and (ii)any information or document relating to the borrower or any agent, connected party or beneficial owner of the borrower; and

retain any information or document relating to a single transaction, including any information needed to explain and reconstruct the transaction, until a date that is at least 5 years after the date on which the relevant loan concerned is fully repaid or on which the contract for the relevant loan is otherwise terminated.

which pertain to a matter under investigation by the authority; or (b)which is the subject of a disclosure made under section 45(1) of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992 or Part 3 of the Terrorism (Suppression of Financing) Act 2002.

adequately resourced and independent; and

able to regularly assess the effectiveness of the internal policies, procedures and controls of the moneylender, and his compliance with these Rules.

develop compliance management arrangements to continually review and update internal policies, procedures and controls for the prevention of money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing; and

appoint an employee or officer in a management position as the compliance officer in relation to the prevention of money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing.

implement screening procedures for the hiring and appointment of fit and proper persons as employees and officers; (b)ensure that his employees and officers, whether in Singapore or elsewhere, are given appropriate training on —

the laws for the prevention of money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing, including these Rules, the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992, the Terrorism (Suppression of Financing) Act 2002 and the United Nations Act 2001; (ii)prevailing methods of, and trends in, money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing; and

the moneylender’s internal policies, procedures and controls for the prevention of money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing, including the roles and responsibilities of employees and officers of the moneylender in relation to those internal policies, procedures and controls; and

ensure that the employees and officers referred to in sub-paragraph (b) are given regular training to keep abreast of changes to the matters in sub-paragraph (b)(i), (ii) and (iii).

any personal data of the individual that is in the possession or under the control of the moneylender; or

any information about the ways in which the personal data of the individual under sub-paragraph (a) has been or may have been used or disclosed by the moneylender.

name, including any alias;

unique identification number (such as an identity card number, birth certificate number or passport number); (c)residential address and contact telephone number; (d)date of birth;

nationality; (f)other information of a factual nature.

with respect to the standards to be maintained by a moneylender in the conduct of his business to give effect to the provisions of these Rules;

where any moneylender is contravening, is likely to contravene or has contravened any provision of these Rules, to require the moneylender —

to comply with that provision or to cease contravention of that provision; (ii)to take such action necessary to enable him to conduct his business in accordance with sound principles for the prevention of money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing; or

to make good any default committed by him; or

for any other purpose specified in these Rules.