The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has introduced a centralized digital platform designed to enable financial institutions to share customer information in an effort to combat money laundering and terrorism financing.
The Cosmic platform was developed in collaboration with six major banks that will serve as its initial users: DBS, OCBC, UOB, Citibank, HSBC, and Standard Chartered. Participants can share customer information only when there are “objectively defined” red flags in the customer profile or behavior.
Information sharing will concentrate on three primary financial crime risks: the misuse of legal entities, the illicit use of trade finance, and proliferation financing. Loo Siew Yee, assistant managing director at MAS, stated, “This will strengthen Singapore’s capabilities to uphold our reputation as a well-regulated and trusted financial center.”