SINGAPORE: The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has filed a police report over an online article that it said was false, defamatory and "impugned its integrity".
The report was filed against the author of an article published on Monday (Nov 5) on the States Times Review, an alternative news website, the central bank said in a statement on Friday.
The Singapore Police Force confirmed that a report was lodged in case of alleged criminal defamation. Investigations are ongoing.
The article, titled "Lee Hsien Loong becomes 1MDB’s key investigation target", alleged that Malaysia had signed several unfair agreements with Singapore in exchange for Singapore banks’ assistance in laundering the funds of Malaysian state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
The central bank called the article "baseless and defamatory", and said it "made statements that were false and malicious and impugned the integrity of MAS as a financial regulator".
"The article ignores the unprecedented and robust actions taken by MAS over the last two years against Singapore-based banks and bankers in relation to their roles in 1MDB related transactions, in most instances ahead of enforcement actions by foreign jurisdictions," it said.
"It also makes false allegations that Singapore was forced to reopen its investigations into 1MDB only after the change in political leadership in Malaysia."
Investigations into the state fund had never been closed, said the central bank.
More at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/1mdb-mas-files-police-report-article-states-times-review-10911664