PART 1 AMENDMENTS TO HOUSING DEVELOPERS
(CONTROL AND LICENSING) ACT |
2. Section 2(1) of the Housing Developers (Control and Licensing) Act (Cap. 130) is amended —| (a) | by inserting, immediately after the definition of “develop”, the following definitions:| “ “FATF” means the intergovernmental body known as the Financial Action Task Force; |
| “FATF Recommendations” means the recommendations issued by the FATF from time to time relating to the prevention of money laundering and the financing of terrorism;”; |
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| | (b) | by inserting, immediately after the definition of “manager”, the following definition:“ “money laundering or terrorism financing offence” means an offence under —| (a) | sections 43 to 48 of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act (Cap. 65A); | | (b) | the Terrorism (Suppression of Financing) Act (Cap. 325); | | (c) | any regulations made under the United Nations Act (Cap. 339); | | (d) | section 12A(2), 12B(3), 12C(5), 12D(2), 12E(6) or 12F(2) or any rules made under this Act for the prevention of money laundering and terrorism financing, or for the reporting of transactions which may involve money laundering or terrorism financing, necessary or expedient to give effect to any relevant FATF Recommendation; or | | (e) | section 5A(5), 5B(5), 5C(6), 5D(2) or 5E(4) of the Sale of Commercial Properties Act (Cap. 281) or any rules made under that Act for the prevention of money laundering and terrorism financing, or for the reporting of transactions which may involve money laundering or terrorism financing, necessary or expedient to give effect to any relevant FATF Recommendation;”; |
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| | (c) | by inserting, immediately after the definition of “public authority”, the following definition:“ “purchaser”, in relation to a licensed housing developer, means a person —| (a) | to whom the licensed housing developer grants an option to purchase from the licensed housing developer a unit of any housing accommodation in a building project undertaken by that licensed housing developer; or | | (b) | who agrees to purchase from the licensed housing developer a unit of any housing accommodation in a building project undertaken by that licensed housing developer, |
| and includes a prospective purchaser;”; and |
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| | (d) | by inserting, immediately after the definition of “show unit”, the following definition:| “ “substantial shareholder”, in relation to a company, has the meaning given by section 81 of the Companies Act;”. |
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3. Section 5(1) of the Housing Developers (Control and Licensing) Act is amended —| (a) | by deleting the word “or” at the end of paragraph (c); and | | (b) | by deleting the full-stop at the end of paragraph (d) and substituting a semi‑colon, and by inserting immediately thereafter the following paragraphs:| “(e) | is an individual who has been convicted (whether before, on or after the date of commencement of section 3 of the Developers (Anti‑Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing) Act 2018) of any money laundering or terrorism financing offence; | | (f) | is a company, partnership, society or limited liability partnership which —| (i) | has been convicted (whether before, on or after the date of commencement of section 3 of the Developers (Anti‑Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing) Act 2018) of any money laundering or terrorism financing offence; or | | (ii) | has an individual mentioned in paragraph (e) who holds or is to hold a responsible position in that company, partnership, society or limited liability partnership, as the case may be; or |
| | (g) | is a company which has as a substantial shareholder a person mentioned in paragraph (e) or (f).”. |
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4. Section 7(1) of the Housing Developers (Control and Licensing) Act is amended by inserting, immediately after paragraph (d), the following paragraphs:| “(da) | has been convicted (whether before, on or after the date of commencement of section 4 of the Developers (Anti‑Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing) Act 2018) of any money laundering or terrorism financing offence; | | (db) | in the case of a company, has as a substantial shareholder a person mentioned in section 5(1)(e) or (f);”. |
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| New Part IIIA and new Part IIIB heading |
5. The Housing Developers (Control and Licensing) Act is amended by inserting, immediately after section 12, the following Part and Part heading:“PART IIIA PREVENTION OF MONEY LAUNDERING
AND FINANCING OF TERRORISM |
| Prohibition against anonymous accounts |
12A.—(1) A licensed housing developer must not, in connection with any housing development carried out or undertaken by the licensed housing developer, open or maintain any account (whether or not in a Project Account) for, or hold and receive moneys from —| (a) | an anonymous source; or | | (b) | a purchaser with an obviously fictitious name. |
| (2) A licensed housing developer that contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $100,000. |
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| Customer due diligence measures, additional measures and measures relating to targeted financial sanctions |
12B.—(1) A licensed housing developer must perform such customer due diligence measures as may be prescribed at such times as may be prescribed.(2) A licensed housing developer must perform —| (a) | the prescribed measures relating to targeted financial sanctions against terrorism; and | | (b) | any prescribed additional measures which are necessary or expedient to give effect to any relevant FATF Recommendation. |
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| (3) A licensed housing developer that contravenes subsection (1) or (2) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $100,000. |
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12C.—(1) A licensed housing developer must keep, for such period as may be prescribed, all documents and information (including any analysis performed) relating to a person that the licensed housing developer obtains as a result of performing the customer due diligence measures required by section 12B.| (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), different periods may be prescribed for different documents and information. |
| (3) A licensed housing developer must keep the documents and information required to be kept under subsection (1) in such form as may be prescribed. |
| (4) A licensed housing developer must make the documents and information required to be kept under subsection (1) available upon request to the Controller or an inspector and such other authorities as may be prescribed. |
| (5) A licensed housing developer that contravenes subsection (1), (3) or (4) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $100,000. |
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| Suspicious transaction reporting |
12D.—(1) Where a licensed housing developer knows or has reasonable grounds to suspect any matter mentioned in section 39(1) of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act, the licensed housing developer must, in accordance with section 39 of that Act, disclose the matter to a Suspicious Transaction Reporting Officer under that Act by way of a suspicious transaction report.| (2) A licensed housing developer that contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $100,000. |
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| Programmes and measures to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing |
12E.—(1) Without limiting sections 12A to 12D, a licensed housing developer must, in relation to its business of carrying out or undertaking housing development in Singapore, implement adequate programmes and measures to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing.(2) A licensed housing developer must, in particular —| (a) | take appropriate steps to identify, assess and understand the money laundering and terrorism financing risks in relation to —| (i) | its purchasers; | | (ii) | the countries or jurisdictions which its purchasers are from or in; | | (iii) | the countries or jurisdictions in which the licensed housing developer has operations; and | | (iv) | its services, transactions and delivery channels; |
| | (b) | for the purpose of paragraph (a) —| (i) | document its risk assessments; | | (ii) | consider all relevant risk factors before determining the overall level of risk and the appropriate type and extent of mitigation to be applied; | | (iii) | keep its risk assessments up to date; and | | (iv) | have appropriate mechanisms to provide its risk assessments to the Controller; |
| | (c) | develop and implement internal policies, procedures and controls, which must be approved by its senior management, to manage and effectively mitigate the money laundering and terrorism financing risks identified by it or notified to it by the Controller, including —| (i) | making appropriate compliance management arrangements, including the appointment of a compliance officer at the management level; and | | (ii) | applying adequate screening procedures when hiring employees; |
| | (d) | have an ongoing programme to train employees on the internal policies, procedures and controls mentioned in paragraph (c); | | (e) | have an independent audit function to test the internal policies, procedures and controls mentioned in paragraph (c); and | | (f) | monitor the implementation of the internal policies, procedures and controls mentioned in paragraph (c), and enhance them if necessary. |
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| (3) The type and extent of the measures to be taken under subsections (1) and (2) must be appropriate having regard to the risk of money laundering and terrorism financing and the size of the licensed housing developer’s business. |
(4) Where a licensed housing developer is a company incorporated in Singapore and has a branch or subsidiary, whether in Singapore or elsewhere, the licensed housing developer must develop and implement a group‑level programme to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing, which programme —| (a) | must be applicable to the licensed housing developer’s branches and subsidiaries, whether in Singapore or elsewhere; | | (b) | must include the measures specified under subsection (2); | | (c) | must be appropriate to the business of the licensed housing developer’s branches and subsidiaries; | | (d) | must be implemented effectively at the level of the licensed housing developer’s branches and subsidiaries; | | (e) | must include policies and procedures for providing and sharing information required for the purposes of customer due diligence measures prescribed for the purposes of section 12B and generally for the management of risks relating to money laundering and terrorism financing; and | | (f) | must include adequate safeguards on the confidentiality and use of information exchanged between the licensed housing developer and its branches and subsidiaries. |
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(5) Where a licensed housing developer mentioned in subsection (4) has a branch or subsidiary in a country or territory outside Singapore that has laws for the prevention of money laundering or the financing of terrorism that differ from those in Singapore —| (a) | the licensed housing developer must require the management of that branch or subsidiary to apply the more stringent set of laws, to the extent that the law of the host country or territory permits; and | | (b) | where that branch or subsidiary is unable to fully apply the more stringent set of laws, the licensed housing developer must report this to the Controller and must, in lieu of paragraph (a), comply with such directions as may be given by the Controller. |
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| (6) A licensed housing developer that contravenes subsection (1), (2), (4) or (5) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $100,000. |
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| Person disqualified to be substantial shareholder |
12F.—(1) A person —| (a) | who has been convicted (whether before, on or after the date of commencement of section 5 of the Developers (Anti‑Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing) Act 2018) of any money laundering or terrorism financing offence; or | | (b) | if a company, partnership, society or limited liability partnership, which has an individual mentioned in paragraph (a) holding a responsible position in that company, partnership, society or limited liability partnership, as the case may be, |
| must not be or become a substantial shareholder of a licensed housing developer, whether by increasing the person’s shareholding in the licensed housing developer or otherwise. |
(2) A person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $100,000. | | MONITORING AND ENFORCEMENT POWERS |
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6. The Housing Developers (Control and Licensing) Act is amended by renumbering section 14 as subsection (1) of that section, and by inserting immediately thereafter the following subsections:“(2) In particular, in order to ascertain whether Part IIIA, or any rules made under section 22 for the prevention of money laundering and terrorism financing, or for the reporting of transactions which may involve money laundering or terrorism financing, necessary or expedient to give effect to any relevant FATF Recommendation, is being complied with, the Controller may, on the Controller’s own motion or upon receiving any written complaint, require a licensed housing developer, or a partner or director of or other person holding a responsible position in a licensed housing developer which is not an individual or a sole proprietorship —| (a) | to produce any document; or | | (b) | to provide any information, |
| to the Controller, an inspector or any person appointed by the Controller. |
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(3) The Controller, an inspector or the person appointed by the Controller under subsection (2) may —| (a) | retain the document provided and make and retain copies of the document; and | | (b) | record the information provided. |
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(4) The Controller may use the document or information obtained as a basis, or disclose the document, information or explanation, for all or any of the following purposes: | (a) | an investigation of any criminal offence, and any subsequent criminal proceedings, under this Act or any other written law; | | (b) | any regulatory action under section 7 against a licensed housing developer. |
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(5) A person —| (a) | who intentionally alters, suppresses or destroys any document or information which the person has been required under this section to produce or provide; or | | (b) | who, in producing any document or providing any information required under this section, makes any statement which the person knows or ought reasonably to know that, or is reckless as to whether, it is false or misleading in a material particular, |
| shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $100,000. |
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(6) Any power under this section to require a person to produce any document or to provide information includes the power —| (a) | to take reasonable steps to require the person to produce the document or provide the information immediately or at a place and time specified in writing; | | (b) | to require the person to provide an explanation of the document or information; | | (c) | if the document or information is not produced or provided, to require the person to state, to the best of the person’s knowledge and belief, where the document or information is; and | | (d) | if the information is recorded in electronic form or otherwise than in legible form, to require the information to be made available in the form or format specified by the Controller, inspector or the person appointed by the Controller under subsection (2), or in a legible form.”. |
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7. Section 22 of the Housing Developers (Control and Licensing) Act is amended —| (a) | by inserting, immediately after paragraph (a) of subsection (2), the following paragraph:| “(b) | the prevention of money laundering and terrorism financing, or the reporting of transactions which may involve money laundering or terrorism financing, necessary or expedient to give effect to any relevant FATF Recommendation, including describing —| (i) | the measures which a licensed housing developer must take when preparing for or carrying out any transaction concerning a housing development; | | (ii) | the customer due diligence measures which must be conducted by a licensed housing developer to prevent money laundering and the financing of terrorism; and | | (iii) | the additional measures relating to targeted financial sanctions against terrorism which a licensed housing developer must take when preparing for or carrying out any transaction concerning a housing development;”; and |
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| | (b) | by inserting, immediately after paragraph (a) of subsection (3), the following paragraph:| “(aa) | may prescribe such saving and transitional provisions as may be necessary or expedient;”. |
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8. Section 25 of the Housing Developers (Control and Licensing) Act is amended —| (a) | by deleting the word “and” at the end of paragraph (b) of subsection (1), and by inserting immediately thereafter the following paragraph:| “(ba) | any person who has been convicted (whether before, on or after the date of commencement of section 8 of the Developers (Anti‑Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing) Act 2018) of any money laundering or terrorism financing offence must not hold or continue to hold a responsible position in a licensed housing developer; and”; |
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| | (b) | by deleting the words “subsection (1)” in subsection (3) and substituting the words “subsection (1)(a), (b) or (c)”; and | | (c) | by inserting, immediately after subsection (3), the following subsection:| “(4) Any person who contravenes subsection (1)(ba) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $100,000.”. |
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