The Malay Mail
THE Singapore government refuted claims made by several individuals in an explosive video revealing alleged shady lands deals with transactions made in the Republic.
The Singapore Ministry of Finance and Monetary Authority of Singapore had, in a joint statement to The Malay Mail today, dismissed the allegations brought forward by Kuching-based lawyer Alvin Chong and sisters Norlia and Fatimah Abdul Rahman who are cousins to Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud in an undercover operation by UK-based Global Witness.
"We refer to your query on a recent video published by the NGO Global Witness which featured a lawyer in a Malaysian state claiming that Singapore facilitates tax evasion in Malaysia by withholding information requested by the Malaysian government. The allegation is simply false.”
“Contrary to what was claimed in the video, Singapore has to date provided fully the information requested by Malaysia for tax purposes. The two countries have had a good working relationship on tax matters, and continue to build on this relationship to strengthen cooperation.”
The statement further added that Singapore has designated a wide range of crimes as predicate offences to money laundering including corruption, bribery and fraud in line with the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force.
“Singapore therefore has been and remains able to provide mutual legal assistance to the fullest extent permitted under our laws where there are requests from Malaysia."
The video, ‘Inside Malaysia’s Shadow State uploaded on YouTube on Monday, Chong revealed how potential buyers were able to avoid paying Real Property Gains Tax (RPGT) and how he could "put into place a mechanism" to control the 51 per cent shareholding which must be held by Malaysian citizens.
It was also revealed in the video how potential land buyers are able to skirt around RPGT by drafting two different sets of agreements and paying a nominal value in the country while the bulk of the money will be paid abroad with continuous references made to Singapore.
Chong had, in that video, said that Singapore is the “new Switzerland” and “they (Singapore) will not tell the Malaysian government anything”.
Chong and another lawyer implicated in that video will be referred to the Inquiry Committee by the Advocates’ Association of Sarawak (AAS). AAS had also lodged a police report over the contents of the video yesterday.
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