PART 1 | Citation and commencement |
| 1. These Rules may be cited as the Legal Profession (Prevention of Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism) Rules 2015 and come into operation on 23 May 2015. |
2. In these Rules, unless the context otherwise requires —“beneficial owner”, in relation to an entity or a legal arrangement —| (a) | means —| (i) | an individual who ultimately owns or controls the entity or legal arrangement; or | | (ii) | an individual on whose behalf the entity or legal arrangement conducts a transaction concerning a relevant matter (being a transaction for which a legal practitioner or law practice is engaged); and |
| | (b) | includes an individual who exercises ultimate effective control over the entity or legal arrangement; |
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“client” includes —| (a) | in relation to contentious business, any person who, as a principal or on behalf of another person, retains or employs, or is about to retain or employ, a legal practitioner or law practice; and | | (b) | in relation to non-contentious business, any person who, as a principal or on behalf of another person, or as a trustee, an executor or an administrator, or in any other capacity, has power, express or implied, to retain or employ, and retains or employs or is about to retain or employ, a legal practitioner or law practice; |
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“close associate”, in relation to a politically-exposed individual, means an individual who is known to be closely connected to the politically-exposed individual, either socially or professionally, such as, but not limited to —| (a) | a partner of the politically-exposed individual; | | (b) | an employee or employer of the politically-exposed individual; | | (c) | 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 individual; or | | (d) | a person whose directions, instructions or wishes the politically-exposed individual is accustomed or under an obligation, whether formal or informal, to act in accordance with; |
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| “Commercial Affairs Officer” means a Commercial Affairs Officer appointed under section 64 of the Police Force Act 2004; [S 636/2024 wef 31/12/2021] |
| “countermeasure” means a measure to prevent, or to facilitate the prevention of, money laundering or the financing of terrorism in a country or jurisdiction other than Singapore; |
| “domestic politically-exposed individual” means an individual who is or has been entrusted with a prominent public function in Singapore; |
| “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 individual, means a spouse, child (including an adopted child or a stepchild), sibling or parent of the politically-exposed individual; |
| “FATF” means the intergovernmental body known as the Financial Action Task Force created in 1989; |
| “foreign politically-exposed individual” means an individual who is or has been entrusted with a prominent public function in a country or jurisdiction other than Singapore; |
| “higher risk business relationship” means a business relationship in relation to which the risks of money laundering and the financing of terrorism are raised under rule 12(4); |
| “higher risk client” means a client in relation to which the risks of money laundering and the financing of terrorism are raised under rule 12(4); |
| “legal arrangement” means any express trust or other similar legal arrangement; |
“politically-exposed individual” means —| (a) | a foreign politically-exposed individual; | | (b) | a domestic politically-exposed individual; or | | (c) | an individual who has been entrusted with a prominent function in an international organisation; |
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| “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); |
| “prominent public function” includes the role held by a head of state, a head of government, a senior politician, a senior government, judicial or military official, a senior executive of a state-owned corporation or a senior political party official; |
“relevant Singapore financial institution” means —| (a) | a bank in Singapore licensed under section 7 of the Banking Act 1970; [S 636/2024 wef 31/12/2021] | | (b) | a merchant bank that holds a merchant bank licence, or is treated as having been granted a merchant bank licence, under section 55S of the Banking Act 1970; [S 251/2023 wef 28/04/2023] | | (ba) | a person that is a financial institution approved, or treated as approved, under section 4 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2022; [S 251/2023 wef 28/04/2023] | | (c) | a finance company licensed under section 6 of the Finance Companies Act 1967; [S 636/2024 wef 31/12/2021] | | (d) | a financial adviser licensed under section 10 of the Financial Advisers Act 2001, except one which is licensed only in respect of the financial advisory service specified in paragraph 2 of the Second Schedule to that Act (namely, advising others by issuing or promulgating research analyses or research reports, whether in electronic, print or other form, concerning any investment product); [S 636/2024 wef 31/12/2021] | | (e) | a holder of a capital markets services licence granted under section 86 of the Securities and Futures Act 2001; [S 636/2024 wef 31/12/2021] | | (f) | [Deleted by S 636/2024 wef 01/08/2024] | | (g) | a person who is exempt from holding a financial adviser’s licence under section 20(1)(g) of the Financial Advisers Act 2001 read with regulation 27(1)(d) of the Financial Advisers Regulations (Rg 2), except one who is exempt only in respect of the financial advisory service specified in paragraph 2 of the Second Schedule to that Act (namely, advising others by issuing or promulgating research analyses or research reports, whether in electronic, print or other form, concerning any investment product); [S 636/2024 wef 31/12/2021] | | (h) | a person who is exempt from holding a capital markets services licence under section 99(1)(h) of the Securities and Futures Act 2001 read with paragraph 7(1)(b) of the Second Schedule to the Securities and Futures (Licensing and Conduct of Business) Regulations; [S 636/2024 wef 31/12/2021] | | (i) | a trustee approved under section 289 of the Securities and Futures Act 2001 for a collective investment scheme authorised under section 286 of that Act; [S 636/2024 wef 31/12/2021] | | (j) | a trust company licensed under section 5 of the Trust Companies Act 2005; or [S 636/2024 wef 31/12/2021] | | (k) | a direct insurer licensed under section 11 of the Insurance Act 1966 to carry on life business; [S 636/2024 wef 31/12/2021] |
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“suspicious transaction report” means a report by which a person —| (a) | discloses, under section 45(1) of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992, any knowledge or suspicion referred to in that provision, or the information or other matter on which that knowledge or suspicion is based, to a Suspicious Transaction Reporting Officer; or [S 636/2024 wef 31/12/2021] | | (b) | informs, under section 8(1) of the Terrorism (Suppression of Financing) Act 2002, a police officer or Commercial Affairs Officer, of any fact or information referred to in that provision; [S 636/2024 wef 31/12/2021] |
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| “Suspicious Transaction Reporting Officer” has the same meaning as in section 2(1) of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992. [S 636/2024 wef 31/12/2021] |
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| Prescribed types of advocates and solicitors and foreign lawyers |
3. For the purposes of the definition of “legal practitioner” in section 70A(2) of the Act, Part 5A of the Act applies to —| (a) | every advocate and solicitor who —| (i) | has in force a practising certificate; or | | (ii) | is a director, a partner, a consultant or an employee of a law practice, whether or not the advocate and solicitor has in force a practising certificate; and |
| | (b) | every foreign lawyer who is a regulated foreign lawyer. [S 697/2015 wef 18/11/2015] [S 636/2024 wef 31/12/2021] |
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