As the global regulatory landscape continues to evolve rapidly, Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter Terrorism Financing (CTF) efforts are no longer restricted to the financial services sector. Ministry of Law, Singapore has recently passed a bill which requires precious stones and metal stones dealers sector (PSMD) to take measures in dealing with Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and CTF (Counter Terrorism Financing).
The precious stones and precious metals dealers (PSMD) sector is exposed to high risk of money laundering and terrorism financing due to the intrinsic high value of the goods, which are easily transportable and concealed, and easily converted to cash.
The Ministry of Law defines the following as precious stones, precious metals and precious products:
Precious stones: diamonds, sapphires, rubies, emeralds, jade, and pearls
Precious metals: gold, silver, platinum and etc.
Precious products: any finished product that derives 50% or more of its value from any precious stone or precious metals
According to the Ministry of Law, the bill introduces a risk-based supervisory and regulatory regime for PSMD to level up AML/CTF standards in the sector. The new regulatory framework will enhance the effectiveness of Singapore’s AML/CTF regime – combating crime and improve security, both domestically and globally.
Under the new proposed guidelines for PSMD sector, regulated dealers are required to:
Register with the Ministry of Law and abide by the conditions of the registration
Conduct stricter customer due diligence checks when handling customers and these include:
Transaction-based requirement: filing cash transaction reports for cash transactions exceeding $20,000; filing suspicious transaction reports where there is suspicion of money laundering (ML) of terrorism financing (TF); performing customer due diligence (CDD) measures; and keeping records of transactions for which CDD measures are performed and information obtained through CDD measures
Entity-based requirements: including conducting ML/TF risk assessments posed by its customers and transactions; and putting in place internal policies, procedures and controls to mitigate these risks amongst other requirements.
Conduct ML/TF risk assessments, develop and implement internal policies, procedures and controls to monitor, manage and mitigate ML/TF risks.
How does a RegTech firm like Cynopsis Solutions comes into play for the PSMD sector?
The unique proposition of combining our deep regulatory and Compliance expertise with smart use of functional technologies allows us to provide a complete case management system that satisfies the broader regulatory reporting requirements such as client screening (PEP, Sanctions, Adverse Media) and risk assessments. This includes providing the necessary ongoing due-diligence, transaction monitoring and audit trails to meet the increasingly stringent KYC regulatory requirements across different sectors around the world.
ARTEMIS and ATHENA, our globally trusted solutions provides comprehensive screening and transaction monitoring services to ensure we provide clients an all-inclusive compliance solutions.
ARTEMIS, our unique Know Your Customer (KYC) automation tool is designed to help our clients meet regulatory requirements and till date, ARTEMIS has helped over 750 B2B global clients across different sectors with their AML/CTF requirements. In partnership with Dow Jones, the solution offers PSMD sector to perform customer risk assessments and stricter customer due diligence (CDD). Most importantly, ARTEMIS keeps records of transactions for which CDD measures are performed and information obtained through CDD measures.
ATHENA on the other hand, will aid the PSMD sector in filing cash transaction reports for cash transactions exceeding $20,000; filing suspicious transaction reports where there is suspicion of money laundering (ML) of terrorism financing (TF).
The implementation of a new regulatory framework for PSMD is another example of the government’s focus on clamping down on money laundering and terrorism financing. Many firms in the PSMD sector may be struggling to keep up with the pace of regulatory change, affecting their industry. This is where RegTech firms like Cynopsis Solutions can play a role by helping them to automate, innovate and enhance their processes to ensure they can address the regulator’s requirements effectively and efficiently and can comply with ease.
About Cynopsis Solutions
Cynopsis Solutions was established in Singapore in 2014 and offers regulatory technology (reg tech) solutions designed to automate KYC processes. It has operations in Singapore, UK, Taiwan and Vietnam. Cynopsis Solutions is a winner of MAS FinTech Awards 2018 and has been recognized as one of the REGTECH100 – an annual list of 100 of the world’s most innovative RegTech companies as determined by RegTech Analyst, a RegTech intelligence platform.
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