Enforcement against Breaches

Robust enforcement actions taken to uphold integrity of financial industry and markets

Enforcement actions ranging from criminal prosecutions and levying of composition fines, to civil penalties were taken against financial institutions and individuals for market abuse or failures to comply with MAS’ AML/CFT requirements.  

Prohibition orders, ranging between two and 20 years, were issued against representatives of financial institutions for dishonest conduct. Those whose misconduct caused harm to vulnerable customers were given lengthier bans.

MAS imposed civil penalty of S$11.2 million on UBS for deceptive trades by its client advisors

MAS imposed a civil penalty of S$11.2 million on UBS AG for acts by its client advisors that had deceived or were likely to have deceived the bank’s clients about the interbank prices or spreads for transactions in over-the-counter bonds and structured products. UBS had undertaken to compensate all affected clients.

MAS issued Prohibition Orders against three individuals following their conviction for insider trading

Three individuals were convicted of insider trading and sentenced to jail terms ranging from 20 to 36 months. A sum of around S$2.4 million was also forfeited to the State. The individuals were representatives of financial institutions. They had carried out a front-running arrangement over seven years and made profits of over S$8 million. This was the first case in Singapore of front-running prosecuted as an insider trading offence, which carried a more severe penalty. The three individuals were also issued prohibition orders ranging from 13 to 15 years.