The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced the fines in connection with a US$2 billion money-laundering scandal involving online gambling syndicates and the convictions of 10 Chinese nationals. The scandal, which triggered high-profile asset seizures—including gold bars and luxury vehicles—has placed renewed scrutiny on the robustness of anti-money laundering (AML) controls in one of Asia's premier financial hubs. The Financial Times, which first reported on the regulator's findings, noted that the S$27.45 million in collective fines is the second-largest financial penalty MAS has ever issued, surpassed only by the enforcement linked to the 1MDB corruption case. In its report, MAS criticized the banks for "poor and inconsistent implementation" of AML safeguards, citing failures in client due diligence, inadequate verification of customers' source of wealth, and lapses in how suspicious transactions were flagged and investigated.