Responsibilities of Compliance Officer under Singapore AML Laws

AML Compliance Officer is not just a designation but has many responsibilities to ensure the quality and effectiveness of AML compliance in the organization. Thus, it is essential that the person designated as Compliance Officer understands the AML regulations of Singapore AML compliance obligations and is committed to ensuring that the entity complies with relevant AML regulations. AML regulations of Singapore mandate the regulated entities to appoint a management-level employee as the Compliance Officer. However, in the case of a sole proprietorship, the owner is permitted to act as AML Compliance Officer.

Further, the AML laws of Singapore entrust various AML duties to Compliance Officer. One of the key responsibilities of the Compliance Officer is to manage the overall AML compliance program of the organization, starting from designing and implementing the internal policies, procedures, and controls, and ensuring its effective implementation. This AML framework must be aligned with the regulatory requirements, including the customer due diligence process, overall risk assessment, and identifying and reporting suspicious activity.

Singapore’s AML regulations require the Compliance Officer to ensure the timely and qualitative filing of regulatory reports with the relevant authorities. This reporting requirement includes filing Cash Transaction Report, Suspicious Transaction Report, Semi-Annual AML Return, etc.

To maintain the relevance and quality of the internal AML policies and procedures, the Compliance Officer must conduct a periodic audit of the AML framework and controls and suggest remedial measures to rectify the identified gaps. In the case of a sole proprietorship, where the sole owner is designated as Compliance Officer, a third party is to be appointed to perform this periodic audit.

Here is an infographic highlighting the regulatory conditions around the appointment of an AML Compliance Officer and the key roles and responsibilities of the Compliance Officer under Singapore AML regulations.

AML Singapore is the one-stop solution for all the AML compliance support for regulated entities in Singapore. AML Singapore offers a wide range of AML services, including setting up the in-house AML Compliance department by identifying the right person to act as Compliance Officer and imparting necessary training to achieve the entrusted responsibilities.