Wirecard scandal: Singapore fines financial firms over breaches

Singapore's financial regulator has fined four companies over breaches related to the Wirecard scandal.

The penalties total S$3.8m ($2.8m; £2.2m), the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) says.

The MAS said that while the breaches were serious, it did not find any "wilful misconduct" by employees at the financial institutions.

Separately, two former employees of the payments firm Wirecard were sentenced to jail in the city state this week.

In a statement, the MAS said it had imposed the fines on Singaporean banks DBS, OCBC and the local businesses of US-based Citigroup and insurance firm Swiss Life.

DBS, which is Singapore's biggest bank, received the largest penalty, a S$2.6m fine.

It failed to "adequately establish the source of wealth of higher risk customers" and "inquire into the background and purpose of unusually large transactions," the MAS said.

Earlier this week, a Singapore court handed out prison sentences to two former Wirecard Asia Holdings employees for conspiring to misappropriate money.

James Aga Wardhana was jailed for 21 months, while Chai Ai Lim was handed a 10-month term.

The sentences were first criminal convictions in the world related to the Wirecard scandal.

German payments firm Wirecard filed for insolvency in 2020 after disclosing a €1.9bn ($2.1bn; £1.6bn) hole in its accounts.

Its former boss, Markus Braun, went on trial in December accused of involvement in the biggest fraud case in German history.

Prosecutors have accused Mr Braun of signing off financial reports that he knew were inaccurate. They also said Wirecard faked documents to show it had money that in reality, it never did.

Mr Braun has denied any wrongdoing. The trial is expected to last well into 2024.

In April this year, German regulators fined and banned accounting firm EY for its handling of audits for Wirecard.

The ban forbids EY from conducting from accepting major new audit mandates for two years.