Singapore police seize $1 billion in cash and cryptocurrencies used in money laundering

• Singapore Police Force announced the arrest of ten foreign nationals involved in the country’s biggest money laundering bust.
• They seized assets, including 94 real estate properties worth upwards of $800 million and $1 billion worth of cash and crypto assets.
• The country is moving into establishing crypto regulations, with the Monetary Authority of Singapore issuing a stablecoin regulatory framework on August 15.

Cryptocurrencies have been subject to much scrutiny due to their involvement in money laundering and other crimes. Even with the governments finding ways to curb their illicit use, they end up making headlines for the same reason, and Singapore witnessed a huge case regarding this earlier this week.

Singapore police bust crypto money launderers

The Singapore Police Force, in a Facebook post, announced that ten foreign nationals had been charged with forgery and money laundering. The announcement also stated over $1 billion worth of cash and crypto assets were seized in addition to multiple properties,

“Prohibition of disposal orders were issued against 94 properties and 50 vehicles, with a total estimated value of more than $815 million.”

The Singapore Police Force added that as the investigation continues, more assets could be seized, bank accounts could be frozen, or prohibition of disposal orders issued. This investigation marks the biggest money laundering case in the history of the country, and with the involvement of crypto assets at such a scale, it raises the question of whether cryptocurrency institutions could be a part of the money laundering.

Despite being a crypto hub in the continent of Asia, Singapore has not set out clear regulations for digital assets. It made some progress yesterday, on August 15, when the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) issued a framework to improve the stability of single-currency stablecoins. 

MAS stated that the framework would only be applicable to non-bank issuers of stablecoins linked to a single currency such as SGD, USD, etc. and have a circulation worth more than $5 million. This includes more than 25 top stablecoins in the world, including the likes of Tether (USDT), USD Coin (USDC), and Pax Dollar (USDP), among others.

Crypto regulations, however, are yet to be established in the country, which would further the interest of service providers as well as investors in Singapore.

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