No. S 555
Estate Agents Act
(CHAPTER 95A)
Estate Agents
(Prevention of Money Laundering and
Financing of Terrorism) Regulations 2021
In exercise of the powers conferred by section 72 of the Estate Agents Act, the Council for Estate Agencies, with the approval of the Minister for National Development, makes the following Regulations:
PART 1
PRELIMINARY
Citation and commencement
1.  These Regulations are the Estate Agents (Prevention of Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism) Regulations 2021 and come into operation on 30 July 2021.
Definitions
2.  In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires —
“beneficial owner”, in relation to an entity or a legal arrangement, means —
(a)an individual who ultimately owns or controls the entity or legal arrangement;
(b)an individual who exercises ultimate effective control over the entity or legal arrangement; or
(c)an individual on whose behalf the entity or legal arrangement carries out any transaction with a licensed estate agent or registered salesperson;
“close associate”, in relation to a politically‑exposed person, means an individual who is known to be closely connected to the politically‑exposed person, either socially or professionally, such as, but not limited to —
(a)a partner of the politically‑exposed person;
(b)a person accustomed or under an obligation, whether formal or informal, to act in accordance with the directions, instructions or wishes of the politically‑exposed person;
(c)a person whose directions, instructions or wishes the politically‑exposed person is accustomed or under an obligation, whether formal or informal, to act in accordance with; or
(d)a person with whom the politically‑exposed person has an agreement or arrangement, whether oral or in writing, and whether express or implied, to act together;
“Commercial Affairs Officer” means a Commercial Affairs Officer appointed under section 64 of the Police Force Act (Cap. 235);
“countermeasure” means a measure to prevent, or to facilitate the prevention of, money laundering or the financing of terrorism;
“entity” means a sole proprietorship, a partnership, a limited partnership, a limited liability partnership, a corporation sole, a company or any other association or body of persons corporate or unincorporate;
“family member”, in relation to a politically‑exposed person, means a spouse, a child, an adopted child or a stepchild, a sibling, an adopted sibling or a stepsibling, or a parent or a step‑parent of the politically‑exposed person;
“FATF” means the intergovernmental body known as the Financial Action Task Force;
“foreign politically‑exposed person” means an individual who is or has been entrusted with a prominent public function in a country or territory other than Singapore;
“identifying information” means all of the following information:
(a)full name;
(b)date of birth, for an individual;
(c)nationality, for an individual, or place of incorporation, registration or formation, for a body corporate or unincorporate;
(d)identification number, which must be —
(i)for an individual — an identity card number, a passport number, or the number of any other document of identity issued by a government as evidence of the individual’s nationality or residence and bearing a photograph of the individual; or
(ii)for a body corporate or unincorporate — a registration number, or the number of any other document, issued by any government certifying the incorporation, registration or existence of the body corporate or unincorporate;
(e)the type of identifying document mentioned in paragraph (d);
(f)occupation, for an individual, or business, for a body corporate or unincorporate;
“legal arrangement” includes any express trust or other similar legal arrangement;
“politically‑exposed person” means —
(a)an individual who is or has been entrusted with any prominent public function in Singapore;
(b)a foreign politically‑exposed person; or
(c)an individual who is or has been entrusted with any prominent function by an international organisation;
“prominent function”, in relation to an international organisation, means the role held by a member of the senior management of the international organisation (including a director, deputy director or member of a board of the international organisation, or an equivalent appointment in the international organisation), and does not include the role held by middle‑ranking or more junior officials;
“prominent public function” includes the role held by a head of state, a head of government, a government minister, a senior politician, a senior civil or public servant, a senior government, judicial or military official, a senior executive of a state‑owned corporation, a senior political party official, or a member of the legislature;
“statutory board” means a body corporate or unincorporate established by or under any public Act to perform or discharge a public function;
“suspicious transaction report” means a report by which a person —
(a)discloses, under section 39(1) of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act (Cap. 65A), any knowledge or suspicion mentioned in that provision, or the information or other matter on which that knowledge or suspicion is based, to a Suspicious Transaction Reporting Officer; or
(b)informs, under section 8(1) of the Terrorism (Suppression of Financing) Act (Cap. 325), a police officer or Commercial Affairs Officer, of any fact or information mentioned in that provision;
“Suspicious Transaction Reporting Officer” has the meaning given by section 2(1) of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act.
Made on 27 July 2021.
QUEK SEE TIAT
President,
Council for Estate Agencies,
Singapore.
[ND 311/04-396; AG/LEGIS/SL/95A/2020/3 Vol. 1]