The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has introduced COSMIC – a centralized digital platform aimed at combating global money laundering, terrorism financing, and proliferation financing.

COSMIC, which stands for COllaborative Sharing of Money Laundering/TF Information & Cases, facilitates the exchange of customer information among financial institutions (FIs).

Participation in COSMIC is voluntary for FIs, as stated in the announcement.

MAS collaborated with six commercial banks in Singapore, namely DBS, OCBC, UOB, Citibank, HSBC, and Standard Chartered Bank, to develop the platform. These banks will serve as the initial participant FIs.

Loo Siew Yee, MAS’ assistant managing director of policy, payments, and financial crime, highlighted that COSMIC empowers FIs to alert each other about suspicious activities promptly and conduct informed risk assessments.

The platform complements existing industry collaboration with MAS and law enforcement agencies to combat financial crime, bolstering Singapore’s reputation as a well-regulated financial hub.

To provide a legal framework for COSMIC, the Financial Services and Markets Act 2022 (FSMA) underwent amendments in May 2023. These amendments enable the sharing of customer information among FIs while ensuring appropriate legal safeguards.

Currently, COSMIC focuses on three main financial crime risks within commercial banking: misuse of legal entities, misuse of trade finance for illicit purposes, and proliferation financing.

Participant FIs can share customer information if specific indicators of suspicion, or “red flags,” are identified in the customer’s profile or behavior.

FIs are required to implement policies and operational measures to safeguard the confidentiality of shared information.