Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on the Average Number of Suspicious Transaction Reports Received Annually by the Commercial Affairs Department for the Past Three Years

Question:

Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what is the average number of suspicious transaction reports (STRs) received annually by the Commercial Affairs Department for the past three years; and (b) what percentage of these STRs resulted in prosecutions for money-laundering and terrorism-financing offences.

Answer:

Mr K Shanmugam, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law:

1.   The Suspicious Transaction Reporting Office (STRO) of the Commercial Affairs Department received an average of 37,000 suspicious transaction reports (STRs) annually between 2019 and 202

2.   The STRO does not track the number of STRs by prosecution outcomes.

3.   About 20% of the STRs disseminated to domestic law enforcement agencies between 2019 and 2021 led to commencement of investigations or supported investigations.