Seminar on Anti-Money Laundering

The SICC LSIG hosted a seminar last Wednesday 28 August on the role of the legal profession in the prevention of money laundering and the financing of terrorism and the rules that lawyers are subject to in this regard. Hosted at Freshfields and moderated by Senior Corporate Partner and LSIG Chair Stephen Revell, the panel comprised S Suressh (Partner, Eversheds Harry Elias and Chair, The Law Society of Singapore Anti-Money Laundering Committee), Grace Chong (Of Counsel, Simmons & Simmons JWS) and Ken Loon Ong (Partner, Drew & Napier).

The panel discussed the recently published Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Lawyer Guidance and shared their insights on how lawyers can play a role in the fight against money laundering. There was detailed discussion on a range of issues that lawyers are confronted with in complying with the regulations in Singapore and their “home countries” where applicable, including record keeping. They also shared “war stories” on how to deal with clients or counterparts who appear to engage in suspicious activities, and the training firms have rolled out on anti-money laundering.