BNR – Four firms have been penalised by Singapore’s finance authority for violations relating to the Wirecard incident. The fines amount to S$3.8 million ($2.8 million; £2.2 million), according to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
While the violations were significant, the MAS found no “wilful misconduct” by workers at the financial firms. Separately, two former Wirecard employees were sentenced to prison in the city-state this week.
The MAS said in a statement that the fines were imposed on Singaporean banks DBS and OCBC. It also fined the local operations of Citigroup and Swiss Life, both of which are in the United States. DBS, Singapore’s largest bank, earned the highest penalty of S$2.6 million.
The MAS said that it failed to “adequately establish the source of wealth of higher-risk customers”. Furthermore, it failed to “inquire into the background and purpose of unusually large transactions.”
First Convictions in Wirecard Scandal
A Singapore court sentenced two former Wirecard Asia Holdings workers to jail earlier this week for conspiring to embezzle money.
James Aga Wardhana was sentenced to 21 months in prison, while Chai Ai Lim received a 10-month sentence.
The punishments were among the globe’s first criminal convictions relating to the Wirecard incident.
Wirecard, a German payments business, declared bankruptcy in 2020 after reporting a €1.9 billion ($2.1 billion; £1.6 billion) shortfall in its records.
Markus Braun, the company’s former CEO, went on trial in December, accused of participating in Germany’s largest fraud case.
Prosecutors have charged Braun with approving financial records that he recognised to be false. They also stated that Wirecard falsified paperwork to demonstrate that it possessed money when, in fact, it did not.
Braun has categorically denied any wrongdoings. The study is planned to extend until at least 2024.
German regulators fined and barred accounting firm Ernst & Young (EY) in April of this year for its handling of audits for Wirecard. For the next two years, EY is prohibited from accepting big new audit engagements.
