financial centre grew in scale, sophistication, and connectedness with the rest of the world. take financial misconduct. you would recall the widespread manipulation of interest rate benchmarks by errant traders across the world ’ s major financial centres in the aftermath of the financial crisis. and it happened here too. mas reviewed the controls of all 19 rate - setting banks in singapore and took firm supervisory actions against them, including requiring them to place additional reserves with mas, which imposed a financial cost. we worked closely with the association of banks in singapore ( abs ) to strengthen governance and conduct in the process for setting benchmark rates. and more recently in the limelight, the scourge of international money laundering. combating money laundering and illicit financing is a national effort. in 2014, a multiagency team under the leadership of mas, the ministry of finance, and the ministry of home affairs, published a national risk assessment report on the money laundering and terrorist financing risks faced by singapore in both the financial and non - financial sectors. the report found that, like other major international financial and business centres, singapore faced a high inherent risk of being used as a conduit for illicit funds. the many agencies worked with their respective sectors to strengthen the framework for anti - money laundering and countering financing of terrorism – aml / cft for short. the financial sector is particularly vulnerable to money laundering and illicit financing risks. this vulnerability is part of our karma as an international financial centre. billions of dollars flow every day through hundreds of financial institutions ( fis ) in singapore. and given our prominence and growth as a wealth management centre, that vulnerability is even greater. the ongoing probe into financial transactions related to 1mdb is a stark reminder to us that the risks are real. it would not be proper for me to say anything about the ongoing investigations beyond the joint statement issued last week. it would also not be proper for me to comment on any specific institution beyond mas ’ statement last week because the supervisory examinations are still ongoing and we have to be fair to the institutions. the two statements last week are unprecedented. we have already said a lot more publicly than we usually do when investigations and reviews have not been completed yet. instead, i want to focus today on what the findings imply for our financial sector. there is no doubt that the recent findings have made a dent in our reputation as a clean and trusted financial centre. mas is disappointed with the lapses in aml / cft controls

prices has raised inflation for electricity and noncooked food and is feeding into transportation and food services inflation. the combination of domestic and external factors has led to a significant rise in inflation in singapore. core inflation picked up to 3. 6 % year - on - year in may, from 3. 3 % in april and 2. 5 % in the first quarter of the year. cpi - all items inflation, which includes private transport and accommodation costs, rose to 5. 6 % year - on - year in may. inflation is expected to get worse before it gets better. core inflation is projected to increase to a peak of 4. 0 - 4. 5 % in q3. it will then level off, and slightly ease towards the end of this year, though still around 3. 5 - 4. 0 % - much higher than what singapore has been used to. for the whole of 2022, core inflation is forecast to come in at 3. 0 – 4. 0 %. as car and accommodation cost increases are likely to remain firm, cpi - all items inflation is expected to come in at 5. 0 – 6. 0 %. inflation is expected to ease further in 2023 but will remain well above the 1. 5 % rate averaged since 2000. this inflation outlook is not without upside risks. the projected profile of inflation is based on two assumptions : some stabilisation of global commodity prices and unwinding of global supply chain constraints ; and a strong pick - up in inflows of non - resident workers that helps to alleviate domestic labour shortages. if there are fresh shocks to global energy and food supplies arising from the ongoing conflict in ukraine or a significant overheating of the domestic labour market, inflation may end up being higher and more persistent. taming inflation means slower economic growth the outlook for a gentle easing of inflationary pressures globally is also premised on strong monetary policy actions by central banks. monetary policy dampens inflation by reducing aggregate demand to be in line with aggregate supply. in most countries, this is achieved through higher interest rates that dampen consumption and investment demand. a slowdown in economic growth is necessary to restore macroeconomic stability and balance. the central banks of the major economies have been tightening monetary policy. the us federal reserve has raised interest rates three times since march 2022. the european central bank has yet to raise rates but has indicated it will do so this month. the bank of england as well as the central banks of canada, australia