Cross Border Cash Movement Reporting

Importance of Cross Border Cash Movement Reporting

Criminals and terrorist financiers around the world have been known to use cash couriers as a means to physically move funds across borders, to finance their illicit activities or to launder their ill-gotten gains.

Since 1 November 2007, Singapore has imposed measures for the disclosure of information on movements of physical currency and bearer negotiable instruments (or CBNI) into and out of Singapore. The initiative is to facilitate the detection, investigation and prosecution of drug trafficking offences and serious crimes. This is consistent with international Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Financing of Terrorism standards recommended by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an inter-governmental body that develops and promotes such policies. Singapore is a member of the FATF.

This initiative is not a currency control measure. There is no restriction on the type or amount of cash which is moved into or out of Singapore.

Reporting Requirement

If you move physical currency and bearer negotiable instruments (or CBNI) exceeding SGD 20,000 (the prescribed amount) or its equivalent in a foreign currency into or out of Singapore, you are required to make a Cash Movement Report. If you receive CBNI exceeding the prescribed amount from outside Singapore, you are required to give a report within five business days upon receipt.

Examples of Physical Currency and Bearer Negotiable Instruments

Exemptions

• A commercial passenger carrier is not required to give a report in respect of CBNI in the possession of its passengers.
• A commercial goods carrier is not required to give a report if the CBNI is carried on behalf of another person and the other person has not disclosed to the carrier that the goods carried include CBNI and the carrier does not know and has no reasonable ground to believe that the goods carried on behalf of the other person include CBNI.

Cash Movement Reports by Travellers

If you enter or leave Singapore and you (whether for yourself or on behalf of any other person, and whether together with other persons) carry physical currency and bearer negotiable instruments (or CBNI) exceeding the prescribed amount, you will need to complete the Physical Currency and Bearer Negotiable Instruments Report (Traveller) or Form NP 727.

You need to hand the Form NP 727 to any immigration officer at the Customs Red Channel on arrival in Singapore, and at the immigration counter on departure from Singapore.

Cash Movement Reports by Senders, Carriers or Recipients

If you move physical currency and bearer negotiable instruments (or CBNI) exceeding the prescribed amount into or out of Singapore, through cargo, post or other means, you will need to complete the Physical Currency and Bearer Negotiable Instruments Report (Sender, Carrier or Recipient) or the Form NP 728.

For a sender or carrier moving physical currency and bearer negotiable instruments (or CBNI) into or out of Singapore, you will need to submit the completed Form NP 728 to the Suspicious Transaction Reporting Office (STRO) no later than one business day before the moving of the CBNI. If it is not reasonably practicable to do so, you should submit the completed Form NP 728 to the STRO at the first opportunity and before the cash is moved.

If you receive CBNI exceeding the prescribed amount from outside Singapore, you are required to complete the Form NP 728 and submit it to the STRO within five business days upon receipt.

Punishment

A failure to give a full and accurate report is an offence under the Act. The punishment is a fine not exceeding SGD 50,000, or an imprisonment term not exceeding 3 years, or both. The cash may also be seized if the person fails to give the report.

The Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) investigates offences relating to this initiative and takes enforcement action against persons who did not give a full and accurate report.

How to File a Cash Movement Report

• For travellers, you can file a Cash Movement Report (CMR) in writing and hand the completed Form NP 727 to any immigration officer at the Customs Red Channel (if arriving in Singapore), and at the immigration counter (if departing from Singapore).
• For senders, carriers or recipients, you can file a CMR electronically via STRO Online Notices And Reporting platform (SONAR).

¹ Form NP 727 is available for download above or at the major checkpoints (Airport Terminals, Cruise Terminals, Tuas and Woodlands Checkpoints).
² With effect from 27 July 2023, the Form NP 728 has been revised. You should use the revised form for your submission made from 27 July 2023. The file should be opened using Adobe Acrobat Reader DC.
³ If you do not have a SingPass or a CorpPass account (which is required in order to file a Form NP 728 electronically on SONAR) and you wish to file a Form NP 728, you should download and complete the form in softcopy, and print it out. Fields that are greyed out should be completed/handwritten and the form should be signed. Thereafter, you will need to deliver the form by post or by hand to the STRO’s office at:

Head, Suspicious Transaction Reporting Office
Commercial Affairs Department
391 New Bridge Road #06-701
Police Cantonment Complex Block D
Singapore 088762
Completed forms sent by post should reach STRO no later than two business days before the moving of the CBNI. 

Related Links

• FAQs On Reporting Of Cross Border Movements Of Physical Currency And Bearer Negotiable Instruments
• About SONAR
• See Media Room (filter by keywords “cash movement”)

International Cooperation

Under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act (CDSA) 1992, the Suspicious Transaction Reporting Office (STRO) is authorised to share information with a foreign Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).

Membership In International Anti-Money Laundering And Counter-Financing Of Terrorism Organisations

Singapore is a member of several international Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) organisations. Membership in these organisations underscores Singapore's commitment to the fight against Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing.

Financial Action Task Force (FATF)

Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG)

Singapore is a founding member of the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG). The APG is a FATF-style regional grouping for the Asia/Pacific region formed in 1997 to prevent and detect money laundering in the region. Singapore strongly supports the objectives and activities of the APG.

Egmont Group of FIUs

The STRO was admitted into the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units (FIU) in June 2002. The Egmont Group of FIUs was established in June 1995 to provide an avenue for the timely sharing of information and provision of assistance between different jurisdictions. A FIU is the central, national agency responsible for receiving, analysing and disseminating financial intelligence to competent authorities. We have provided assistance to FIUs from various countries in the Egmont group over the years.

Partnership With The Community

Money launderers use financial instruments and facilities extensively to launder criminal proceeds. They target members of the financial community, such as banks, insurance companies, fund managers, money-changers and remittance companies as possible conduits for laundering money. They may mislead bona fide businesses and companies to assist to receive and pay out tainted monies or property related to terrorism. They may also draw in professionals such as lawyers and accountants to assist in the criminals' money laundering schemes.

We are mindful of the vulnerability of certain sectors and professions to money laundering.  To build a robust Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regime in Singapore, we engage these sectors and professions to forge strong partnership to collect financial intelligence. 

Guidance on Filing STRs, CMRs and CTRs

The Suspicious Transaction Reporting Office (STRO) engages the financial institution sectors and the designated non-financial businesses and professions sectors, using both face to face channels and publications, to raise the usefulness of information in Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs), Cross border cash Movement Reports (CMRs) and Cash Transaction Reports (CTRs) filed by them.

The STRO jointly organizes, with industry associations and regulators, closed-door dialogue sessions, seminars and conferences for financial institution sectors and designated non-financial businesses sectors and professions. STRO provides guidance on trends and typologies of crime relevant to the respective sectors and discuss issues that the sectors may have relating to AML/CFT at such events.

The STRO has also developed publications to provide suspicious indicators, case studies and trends detected from our analysis of STRs. Such publications are disseminated to financial institution sectors and designated non-financial businesses and professions sectors via the STRO Online Notices and Reporting Platform (SONAR) and through the respective industry associations and regulators.

Statistics

Financial Intelligence

The Suspicious Transaction Reporting Office (STRO) receives, analyses and disseminates financial intelligence collated from Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs), Cash Movement Reports (CMRs) and Cash Transaction Reports (CTRs). These reports play a pivotal role in the Anti-Money Laundering/Counter-Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regime in Singapore. Over the years, there has been a significant increase in the number of STRs, CMRs and CTRs received. This is the result of continued vigilance of the reporting entities in detecting suspicious transactions and greater AML/CFT awareness in Singapore.

International Cooperation

STRO is a member of the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) and we have collaborations with the international network of foreign FIUs to combat money laundering and terrorism financing. The STRO renders assistance to our foreign counterparts in response to their requests for assistance (RFA). The STRO also sends RFAs to our foreign counterparts to further our analysis of financial intelligence and provide investigation leads to domestic law enforcement agencies.

Community Partnership

STRO organizes meetings and discussion forums to share crime trends and typologies with the financial and business community, industry associations and domestic law enforcement agencies. Such engagements have been effective in enhancing the quantity and quality of financial intelligence received by STRO and the use of financial intelligence to fight crime.

Suspicious Transaction Reporting

Importance of Filing Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs)

Money laundering is an international concern. Criminals are known to launder proceeds of crime to legitimize their ill-gotten gains. If they are not stopped, they can enjoy their fruits of crime with impunity.

In recent years, many parts of the world have seen terrorist attacks. Governments worldwide have responded by stepping up their efforts to counter acts of terrorism and the financing of terrorism.

Suspicious Transaction Reports (STR) play an important role in combating money laundering and terrorism financing. A high level of suspicious transaction reporting is an internationally accepted indicator of the existence of a strong Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regime.

Since the establishment of the Suspicious Transaction Reporting Office (STRO) in January 2000, the number of STRs received by the STRO has risen steadily over the years. These STRs have been helpful in the detection of a number of significant cases.

Reporting Requirements

In the course of your trade, profession, business or employment, if you know or have reasonable grounds to suspect that any property may be connected to a criminal activity, you are required to file a Suspicious Transaction Report (STR) to the Suspicious Transaction Reporting Office (STRO). Failure to file a STR may constitute a criminal offence.

This reporting requirement is set out in Section 45 of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992 (also commonly known as CDSA).

Every person in Singapore and every Singapore citizen outside Singapore also have a duty to provide information on property and financial transactions belonging to terrorist and acts of terrorism financing to the Police. This legal obligation is set out in Sections 8 and 10 of the Terrorism (Suppression of Terrorism) Act 2002 (TSOFA). Failure to provide information may constitute a criminal offence.

The disclosure of terrorism financing information can be made to the Suspicious Transaction Reporting Office (STRO) in a STR.

How to File

Businesses and their employees can download the Suspicious Transaction Report (STR) Form from and e-file the completed STR on SONAR. STRO’s guidance on the completion of the STR Form is also available on SONAR.

The regulators for a number of reporting industries require entities to comply with the Anti Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing (AML/CFT) legislation and regulations. They have requirements on customer due diligence, record keeping, internal controls, training and suspicious transaction reporting and have issued the industry specific guidelines and indicators on the detection and reporting of STRs.

If your business or employment is not within a regulated industry and you wish to file a Suspicious Transaction Report (STR), you should complete the Generic STR Form in English, and have it signed and delivered by post or by hand to the STRO’s office at:

Head, Suspicious Transaction Reporting Office
Commercial Affairs Department
391 New Bridge Road #06-701
Police Cantonment Complex Block D
Singapore 088762

Related Links

• FAQs for Suspicious Transaction Reporting
• About SONAR