Singapore Expands Bank Network for Financial Crime Intelligence Platform

A Regional Model for Financial Crime Cooperation

Singapore's financial crime intelligence-sharing platform is growing. The Monetary Authority of Singapore announced it will bring additional banks onto COSMIC, its collaborative system for detecting and disrupting illicit money flows, within the next two years. The expansion follows measurable gains since the platform went live in April 2024 with six major commercial banks.

COSMIC - short for Collaborative Sharing of ML/TF Information & Cases - was designed to help banks pool risk intelligence on money laundering and terrorism financing. The initial focus covered three high-risk areas: misuse of legal entities, trade finance manipulation for illicit purposes, and proliferation financing.

Results from the First Phase

Since launch, participating banks have filed additional suspicious transaction reports based on intelligence shared through the platform, according to MAS. Banks also closed a significant number of customer accounts after conducting reviews triggered by shared information. The collaborative approach has enabled both banks and the regulator to map suspicious networks that individual institutions might have missed operating in isolation.

The Financial Action Task Force, the global standard-setter for anti-money laundering measures, recognised COSMIC's effectiveness in its recent mutual evaluation of Singapore. That endorsement matters in a region where cross-border finance and trade create complex channels for illicit flows, and where regulators are under pressure to demonstrate concrete action rather than policy statements.

Balancing Expansion with Privacy

MAS plans to complete the expansion within two years, but the timeline reflects deliberate caution. The regulator is balancing the benefits of wider information sharing against two risks: undue de-risking, where banks cut off legitimate customers to avoid compliance headaches, and the need to protect customer data.

De-risking has been a persistent challenge across Asia, particularly for smaller businesses and correspondent banking relationships. When banks share more information about suspicious activity, there is a risk that institutions become overly conservative, closing accounts based on incomplete pictures or guilt by association. MAS has not detailed the specific safeguards it will implement, but the two-year timeline suggests a phased approach with monitoring at each stage.

The privacy question is equally sensitive. Financial intelligence sharing requires banks to exchange customer information that would normally be protected by confidentiality rules. Singapore has strong data protection laws, and any expansion will need to navigate both regulatory requirements and customer trust concerns.

Asia's Financial Crime Pressure Points

Singapore's move comes as financial hubs across Asia face intensifying scrutiny over money laundering controls. The city-state itself was shaken by a SGD 3 billion money laundering case in 2023 involving foreign nationals who moved illicit funds through its banking system. That case prompted a regulatory overhaul and heightened expectations for banks to catch suspicious activity earlier.

COSMIC represents a shift from the traditional model, where banks operate as independent sentries, each watching their own perimeter. By pooling intelligence, banks can identify patterns that span multiple institutions - layered transactions, shell company networks, or coordinated account activity that looks innocuous in isolation but suspicious in aggregate.

The platform's focus on trade finance is particularly relevant for Singapore, a major trade and logistics hub. Trade-based money laundering, where criminals manipulate invoices and shipping documents to move value across borders, is notoriously difficult to detect without cross-institution visibility.

What Comes Next

MAS has not disclosed which banks will join the platform or whether the expansion will eventually include non-bank financial institutions such as payment firms or asset managers. The initial six participants were major commercial banks, suggesting the regulator started with institutions that have established compliance infrastructure and can absorb the operational demands of real-time intelligence sharing.

The expansion of scope beyond the three initial risk areas is also on the table, though MAS has not specified which financial crime categories will be added. Likely candidates include digital asset-related risks, given Singapore's push to become a regulated crypto hub, and sanctions evasion, an area of growing concern as geopolitical tensions reshape financial flows in the region.

For Asia's financial centres, COSMIC is a test case. If Singapore can demonstrate that collaborative intelligence sharing delivers tangible results without triggering excessive de-risking or data breaches, other jurisdictions may follow. Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Dubai are all exploring similar models. The next two years will show whether the platform can scale while maintaining the balance between security and access that defines a trusted financial hub.