Singapore charges two ex-bankers for helping $2.2 bln money laundering ring
Adds comment by Julius Baer paragraph 5
SINGAPORE, Aug 15 (Reuters) -A Singapore court on Thursday charged two former bankers for helping a group of foreigners who were convicted of laundering $2.2 billion last year in the biggest such financial crime in the Asian financial hub.
Both Wang Qiming and Liu Kai were relationship managers and Chinese nationals employed by Citibank and Swiss private bank Julius Baer, according to a Singapore Police Force statement and the court documents.
Wang, 26, faces 10 charges, including laundering almost S$500,000 ($379,708) and forging loan documents. Liu, 35, was charged with using a forged Chinese tax document to help one of the convicted money launderers open a Julius Baer bank account in Switzerland, the court documents showed.
The lawyers of the two men did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Julius Baer said in a statement it was cooperating with the authorities and was "committed to supporting their efforts to uphold the integrity of the Singapore financial system".
In a separate statement, Citibank said: "The individual in question has not been in our employ since April 2022. We do not comment on matters that are before the courts."
Last August, authorities conducted simultaneous raids and arrested 10 foreigners holding multiple passports in a case that captivated the city-state because of the staggeringly large amount of money, cars, luxury goods and properties involved.
The 10 convicted money launderers were sentenced to jail terms of between 13 and 17 months, and were deported and barred from re-entering Singapore after completing their sentences.
The case has prompted reforms that include making it easier to prosecute money laundering cases.
Authorities have also set up an inter-ministerial panel to review the anti-money laundering process and inspect financial institutions suspected of involvement.
In June, the government said Singapore's banking sector poses the highest money laundering risk in the city-state.
($1 = 1.3170 Singapore dollars)
Reporting by Xinghui Kok; editing by Miral Fahmy
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