MAS Exploring AI Options to Counter Money Laundering

According to Ravi Menon, the managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), they are highly enthusiastic about investigating the potential applications of artificial intelligence in combating money laundering. Mr. Menon sat down for an extensive interview with CNA prior to the much-awaited Singapore FinTech Festival, which will prominently feature the emergence of AI. The Singapore Expo will be hosting the event from November 15 to 17.

AI has the capability to connect data points in expansive datasets that surpass the capacity of the human brain. On the other hand, MAS already incorporates machine learning and advanced data analytics to identify instances of fraud and other dubious activities.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is deployed for processing vast amounts of data and information. It effectively analyzes reports from financial institutions and news articles to identify significant developments that require supervisory attention.  But the recent billion-dollar money laundering crackdown in Singapore highlighted the need for more to be done to strengthen “big-picture surveillance”, said Mr Menon who is retiring in January.

“Money launderers operate across different financial institutions, and you need to be able to join the dots across them.”

Mr Menon noted that AI can, for example, be applied to COSMIC – an upcoming digital platform for financial institutions to share information on suspicious customers or transactions.

Currently, financial institutions are unable to warn one another about unusual activity involving customers given confidentiality obligations. COSMIC – or Collaborative Sharing of Money Laundering/Terrorism Financing Information and Cases – aims to eliminate these information gaps when it is rolled out in the second half of 2024.