PROMOTING EFFECTIVE INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION TO
COMBAT TRANSNATIONAL CORRUPTION: A SINGAPOREPERSPECTIVE
Tan Ben Mathias *I. INTRODUCTION
Singapore sits at the crossroads of global trade and financial flows. Apart from themovement of people and goods, Singapore sees a significant flow of funds from the region
and the world. Just as businesses and individuals are attracted to carry out legitimate
business in Singapore, criminals and their syndicates are similarly keen to exploit
Singapore’s business and banking networks for unlawful gain.
Singapore takes its membership in the global community in the fight against corruption
seriously. As a financial hub, the Singapore authorities receive numerous requests forassistance in both investigating transnational corruption and the seizing of assets
representing the proceeds of corruption. Where we have received such requests, we havepromptly responded.
This paper provides a broad overview of the Mutual Legal Assistance (“MLA”) legal
framework in Singapore and discusses some of the practical challenges relating to MLA
requests and responses that Singapore has adopted. The latter section of this paper sets out
some of the avenues through which Singapore and its agencies provide and receive mutual
legal assistance, and highlights instances of successful international cooperation incombating transnational corruption.
II. THE MLA FRAMEWORK IN SINGAPORE
A. Overview
The primary governing legislation for the provision of MLA is the Mutual Assistancein Criminal Matters Act (Cap 190A, 2001 Rev Ed) (“MACMA”). The objective ofMACMA is to facilitate the provision and obtaining of international assistance bySingapore in criminal matters, including, among other forms of assistance, the provisionand obtaining of evidence, the recovery, forfeiture, or confiscation of property in respect ofoffences, and the service of documents. 1 Singapore can provide MLA to anotherjurisdiction on the basis of bilateral agreements and, where there is no MLA agreement orarrangement in force between Singapore and the requesting State, on the basis ofreciprocity (i.e., upon a reciprocity undertaking furnished by the Government of therequesting State).
The key actors involved in the processing and execution of an MLA request are:*1

Deputy Public Prosecutor, Attorney-General’s Chambers, Singapore.
See section 3 of MACMA.

- 139 -- 141 -(a) The Attorney-General’s Chambers (“AGC”), which is the Central Authority for
MLA and Extradition. Specifically, the International Affairs Division, International
Legal Cooperation Team (email: AGC_CentralAuthority@agc.gov.sg) receives
MLA and extradition requests;(b) The Ministry of Law; and(c) Operational and Law Enforcement Agencies (“LEAs”) such as the Singapore Police
Force (“SPF”), the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (“CPIB”) and theCommercial Affairs Department (“CAD”).
The AGC, as the Central Authority, receives MLA requests and consults the requesting
State, various agencies, and where appropriate, the Ministry of Law. In respect of MLA
requests that fall within the ambit of the MACMA, the AGC and/or the relevant LEAs
execute these MLA requests after the Ministry of Law gives instructions to accede to thesame. Depending on the assistance sought in the MLA request, it may be necessary to applyfor and obtain a Court order. Thereafter, where applicable, the requested material sought inthe MLA request is transmitted to the requesting State.
B. The MLA Request: Requirements, Grounds of Refusal and Processing Time
Section 19(2) of the MACMA prescribes the requirements regarding the contents of an
MLA request to Singapore. These requirements include the following:(a) The purpose of the request and nature of the assistance sought. 2 In this regard, itwould be helpful to provide a description of how the evidential material sought is
specifically relevant to the criminal investigations or trial, or how the assistancesought will provide substantial value to investigations.
(b) The identity of the requesting person or authority. 3(c) A description of the nature of the criminal matter and a statement setting out asummary of the relevant facts and laws. 4(d) A description of the offence to which the criminal matter relates, including its
maximum penalty. 5The MLA request should also enclose the documentation, information and requisite
undertakings required by the MACMA, including legislation (criminal offences andpenalties), reciprocity undertaking (if required), mandatory assurances and undertakings,
and the procedure to be followed.
There are several grounds for refusing an MLA request, which are set out in section 20of the MACMA. These grounds include the following:(a) Failure to comply with the terms of the applicable MLA treaty, memorandum ofunderstanding or agreement between Singapore and the requesting State. 6(b) The MLA request relates to an offence of a political character. 7(c) It is contrary to public interest to provide the assistance. 8Section 19(2)(a), MACMA.
Section 19(2)(b), MACMA.
4
Section 19(2)(c)(ii), MACMA.
5
Section 19(2)(c)(iv), MACMA.
6Section 20(1)(a), MACMA.
7Section 20(1)(b), MACMA.
8Section 20(1)(i), MACMA.
23- 140 -- 142 -(d) The provision of assistance could prejudice a criminal matter in Singapore. 9(e) The provision of assistance would, or would be likely to, prejudice the safety of any
person in Singapore or elsewhere. 10(f) The provision of assistance would impose an excessive burden on the resources ofSingapore. 11The time required to process and execute an MLA request can vary significantlydepending on, among other things, the nature and complexity of the request. The averagereported turnaround time for incoming MLA requests calculated from the date of receipt of
the request was 9 months in 2013 and 8.3 months in 2014. 12 Once the requesting State has
provided sufficient information, non-urgent requests requiring court orders may take up tofour months, whereas non-coercive assistance would take a significantly shorter time. 13C. Practical Challenges Relating to MLA Requests and Responses
In this section, two specific practical challenges relating to MLA requests and theirassociated responses are discussed.
The first challenge pertains to the increasing number of MLA requests received bySingapore in recent years. AGC is projected this year to have to deal with approximately
46 per cent more incoming MLA requests than it did three to four years ago.
Correspondingly, there has in recent years also been an increasing number of requests that
Singapore has made to other States. This is unlikely to be an isolated trend in an
increasingly globalized world with both businesses and criminal enterprises operating
globally. Significant increases in MLA requests pose challenges to Central Authorities
around the world which must cope with a greater workload which may not be matched witha proportionate increase in manpower and resources. The need to address inefficiencies in
the MLA process is therefore paramount.
One modest step that AGC has taken to reduce inefficiencies is to put up template MLA
request forms on the Central Authority webpage (https://www.agc.gov.sg/ourroles/international-law-advisor/mutual-Legal-assistance). The template forms areannotated with prompts or reminders on the relevant information that Singapore lawrequires. They were introduced after it was observed that a considerable amount of timeand effort was expended by the Singapore Central Authority going back and forth with its
counterparts to fill information gaps in the MLA requests that it received. The use oftemplate forms has not only helped to reduce the time and effort involved in this regard,
but it has also reduced the time spent by AGC officers processing the requests in extracting
relevant information since the template already arranges such information in a structured
manner. Apart from the availability of template request forms, pre-MLA consultations forcomplex cases are also possible. Requesting States may submit a draft request to the Central
Authority for consultation, and a case officer from the Central Authority will be assignedto handle the request.
Section 20(1)(l), MACMA.
Section 20(2)(b), MACMA.
11
Section 20(2)(c), MACMA.
12
Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and Asia / Pacific Group on Money-Laundering (APG) (2016), Antimoney-laundering and counter-terrorist financing measures - Singapore, Fourth Round Mutual Evaluation
Report, FATF, Paris and APG, Sydney at p 125; available online at: www.fatfgafi.org/publications/mutualevaluations/documents/mer-singapore-2016.html.
13Ibid.
910- 141 -- 143 -To further reduce the time and effort for internal processing of MLA requests,
Singapore is currently looking into further streamlining and automation of the process. In
this regard, Singapore is exploring the use of software to auto-extract information submitted
and auto-populate draft documents required for internal processing, such as court forms
and affidavits to be used in court proceedings. These innovations will likely help to improvethe efficiency of processing MLA requests, and reduce the incidence of human error.
The second challenge relates to language barriers which may hinder quick and efficientinternational cooperation. The laws of some States require MLA requests to be submitted
in their language, and for a requesting State, it may be difficult to obtain translations of its
requests into less common languages. This exercise is, in any event, likely to take asignificant amount of time and effort.
Although it may be neither proper nor realistic to call on States to review their language
requirements, there are nonetheless practical steps that can be considered to facilitate thetranslation process. For example, in the case of a less common language, the translation
capacity of the requesting and requested States is often asymmetrical. One State is usually
better equipped than the other to undertake the necessary translation. Both sides may
therefore wish to consider whether an arrangement can be made for translations in suchcases to be undertaken by the better equipped State, even if it is not the requesting State,with suitable arrangements for the defraying of costs, if required. Such an arrangement canbe formalized in a protocol between the States concerned.
In addition to arrangements between States regarding the translation of MLA-related
documents, technology may possibly be harnessed to mitigate the inefficiencies due tolanguage barriers. In March 2018, Microsoft researchers reported that their machinetranslation system could translate news articles from Chinese to English with the same
quality and accuracy as a person, without human intervention (and presumably faster thana human translator). 14 Technology is likely to be close to a point where machine translation,
improved by machine learning, is, for at least the more common language-to-language
pairings, sufficiently accurate that States can use them on their own for authoritativetranslations with significantly reduced, if any, human verification.
The heightened demand for MLA between States in an increasingly globalized world
means that States can hardly afford to stand still and deploy old methods and approaches
in processing and executing MLA requests. Although there is no quick panacea to address
the various practical challenges relating to MLA requests, States can and should consider
harnessing technology and implementing practical measures in close collaboration witheach other to improve the efficiencies of their MLA processes.
III. BEYOND MACMA: OTHER FORMS OF ASSISTANCE AND
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
Beyond the formal MACMA legal framework, Singapore and its law enforcement
agencies also provide other forms of assistance to requesting States and their agencies,
recognizing that transnational crime, including corruption, cannot be fought alone. ThisAlison Linn (14 March 2018), Microsoft reaches a historic milestone, using AI to match humanperformance in translating news from Chinese to English, available online at:https://blogs.microsoft.com/ai/chinese-to-english-translator-milestone/.

14- 142 -- 144 -section discusses various forms of informal assistance involving non-coercive measures,and agency to agency cooperation, together with some case examples of successfulinternational cooperation.
In relation to informal assistance involving non-coercive measures, these may take thefollowing forms:(a) Witness statements: If witnesses provide their consent, Singapore authorities may
assist requesting foreign authorities to record statements or obtain affidavits fromthese witnesses in Singapore.
(b) Obtaining publicly available records: For example, business profile records
maintained by the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority of Singapore.
These records contain information on the shareholders and directors of Singaporeregistered companies, which may lead to the identification of suspects. Singapore
authorities may assist foreign authorities to obtain such records.
(c) Obtaining documents disclosed voluntarily by persons.
(d) Voluntary repatriation of funds.
An example of successful international cooperation resulting in the voluntary
repatriation of funds to the requesting State relates to a transnational bribery case involvinga government-linked aviation company of Country A. In 2015, the Singapore authorities
received information that bribes were given to officials of a government-linked aviationcompany of the requesting Country A in return for securing contracts for the provision ofaircrafts and aftermarket service of the aircraft engines. Investigations identified one ofthese officials to be Subject X, Vice-President of Asset Management, at the material time.
Pursuant to their investigations, the Singapore enforcement authorities seized cash andbonds/equities from Subject X’s bank accounts in Singapore that constituted proceeds ofthe corruption offences involving Subject X. The Singapore authorities worked together
with the authorities of requesting Country A on the disposal of the seized assets. The
account holder of the seized assets had given consent to voluntarily surrender the equivalentof US$ 1,235,845.90 of the seized funds to Country A. On this basis, the Singapore
authorities repatriated the said funds to Country A in September 2020.
Singapore’s Financial Intelligence Unit (“FIU”), the Suspicious Transaction ReportingOffice (“STRO”), is housed within the CAD and plays an important institutionalized rolein agency-to-agency cooperation. The STRO is the central agency for receiving, analysing
and disseminating suspicious transaction reports, cash movement reports, and cashtransaction reports. The STRO turns the data in these reports into financial intelligence todetect money- laundering, terrorism financing and other criminal offences, including
corruption. Working arrangements are in place to facilitate the dissemination of financial
intelligence to relevant law enforcement agencies and/or competent authorities.
In addition, in the course of investigations, CPIB regularly cooperates with anticorruption agencies in the region, such as the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission,
Anti-Corruption Bureau (Brunei), Corruption Eradication Commission (Indonesia) andIndependent Commission against Corruption (Hong Kong), as well as other foreign law
enforcement agencies, such as the FBI (US), Australian Federal Police (Australia), Serious
Fraud Office (UK), in the exchange of information, intelligence and joint operations.

- 143 -- 145 -Singapore has also sought to build trust between law enforcement agencies by its
participation in international enforcement networks like the International Anti-Corruption
Coordination Centre (“IACCC”), which coordinates global law enforcement responses toallegations of corruption. Singapore has been a part of IACCC since July 2017.
In 2017, CPIB received information from the IACCC that three UK-incorporated
companies were believed to be laundering monies for politically exposed persons. One of
the companies received funds from two companies that were incorporated in Singapore.
CPIB commenced investigations, and it was established that a foreigner had set up shellcompanies and bank accounts in Singapore with the use of nominee directors to conceal
the ultimate beneficial owners. These nominee directors were charged in court for cheating
the bank in relation to the disclosure of beneficial ownership and were convicted.
In 2021, CPIB provided informal assistance to the IACCC which was useful to bribery
and money-laundering investigations undertaken by two countries. CPIB has received
positive feedback from IACCC for Singapore’s efforts.
A further instance of successful international cooperation that Singapore has engaged
in is a parallel investigation with the US for a corruption case. In 2013, CPIB received
information from the US Naval Criminal Investigative Service (“NCIS”) that a company
incorporated in Singapore was the focus of bribery and fraud investigations in the US. The
Singapore company provided ship-husbanding services to the US Navy in various ports in
the Pacific and South-East Asia. (Ship husbandry is the provision of services to a ship at
port, including services such as customs formalities, fuelling, supplies and repairs.) The
Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) of the company bribed, among others, an employee ofthe US government who worked in Singapore as a lead contract specialist for the US Navy.
The employee was a Singapore citizen. In return for the bribes, she provided the CEO withclassified information in connection with the scheduling of ships. The CEO then used theinformation and bribed US Navy personnel to divert the US Navy vessels to ports where
the company had a presence and secured lucrative contracts to supply the vessels. The US
investigations uncovered the largest and most extensive bribery and fraud conspiracy in thehistory of the US Navy. The bribery took place in various ports around the world.
The CEO and the victim (the US Navy) were in the US. However, given that part of thecorruption took place in Singapore, Singapore’s CPIB commenced domestic investigations
on the suspects residing in Singapore. This started an informal parallel investigation
arrangement with the NCIS, where the US and Singapore were able to separately pursue
their own investigations, and at the same time share valuable intelligence that assisted eachother’s investigations. This enabled the US extradition requests for two suspects fromSingapore to be reviewed and approved expeditiously. Valuable evidence could be quickly
secured and the investigations scoped, leading to a successful prosecution of the suspects
in the US and Singapore.
IV. CONCLUSION
Modern corruption often assumes a transnational character. The corrupt are no longer
content with perpetrating their corrupt acts within their borders. Advances in technology
and the interconnected nature of global finance bring both promise of shared prosperity,- 144 -- 146 -but also risk abuse by the corrupt who use these systems to conduct their illicit activities
and transfer their benefits of criminal conduct across multiple jurisdictions.
To combat transnational corruption, States must embrace and harness technologicaladvances, streamline their MLA processes, and work closely together across geography
and legal systems to bring perpetrators and their syndicates to justice.

- 145 -- 147 -