Former CEO of Singapore casino regulator appointed FATF President

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is the global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog.

03/09/22

The Financial Action Task Force will be led by T Raja Kumar, former chief executive of the Casino Regulatory Authority.

Singapore.- Authorities in Singapore have revealed that T Raja Kumar, former chief executive of the Casino Regulatory Authority (CRA), has been appointed as the next president of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the Paris-based inter-governmental agency that monitors controls on anti-money laundering and terrorist financing.

Raja will assume office on July 1 for a fixed two-year term, replacing Marcus Pleyer. Raja is the current head of Singapore’s delegation to the FATF and has served in this capacity since January 2015. He has also been a member of the Steering Group, which provides advice to the FATF President, since July 2018.

He previously worked as deputy secretary at the ministry of home affairs. He also served as senior deputy director of the Commercial Affairs Department.

K Shanmugam, minister for home affairs and law, said: “Congratulations to Raja for being the first Singaporean to lead the FATF. Raja’s capabilities, international experience, and work as a senior public sector leader, operating in a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural environment across a range of disciplines, will come in useful to lead an international organisation such as the FATF.”

Singapore’s Minister for Finance, Lawrence Wong, added: “Singapore strongly supports the outstanding work of the FATF in establishing and implementing global standards to combat money laundering and terrorism financing. Raja has a long history of contributing to the FATF’s work.

“I look forward to Raja, as President, bringing together law enforcement authorities, financial sector and other AML/CFT supervisors, as well as private sector stakeholders to achieve effective outcomes. Raja’s experience and leadership will enable him to effectively lead the FATF’s mission in the years ahead.”

New Singapore gambling legislation receives first reading

Two key bills on gambling legislation have had their first readings in Singapore’s parliament. The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Singapore Bill and the Gambling Control Bill aim to set out clearer regulations for gambling.

The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Singapore Bill will create a new Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA) as a single regulator for all forms of gambling. The Gambling Control Bill proposes to increase penalties for unlawful gambling both land-based and online and impose stronger penalties for repeat offenders who facilitate or operate unlawful gambling services.

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