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.
