Data on persons who have unknowingly received funds from bank accounts linked to money-laundering activities and actions to freeze their accounts

Question:

Ms Diana Pang Li Yen: To ask the Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether the Ministry collects data on (i) the number of persons who unknowingly receive funds from bank accounts linked to suspected money-laundering activities and sub sequently have their own accounts frozen, and (ii) the average time taken by financial institutions to complete investigations and unfreeze such accounts; and (b) if so, what is the data for each of the past five years.

Answer:

Mr K Shanmugam, Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs:

1. Bank accounts are frozen when there is reason to suspect that the bank accounts are involved in illicit activities, including money laundering activities. These bank accounts would be unfrozen when they are subsequently found not to be involved in criminal activity and are no longer required for the purposes of investigation, trial or other Court proceedings. The government neither tracks the number of bank account owners who may have received the funds unknowingly, nor the time taken to unfreeze such bank accounts. However, the Member may refer to SPF's annual Scams and Cybercrimes brief published on the SPF's website for the number of bank accounts suspected to be involved in the laundering of scams proceeds which the SPF has frozen each year.

2. Affected individuals can apply to the Court to access their bank accounts for legitimate purposes, such as basic living expenses or other essential spending.