Singapore on Friday strongly rejected a whistleblower’s allegation that its banks facilitate massive tax evasion by a powerful family in neighbouring Malaysia’s Sarawak state.
London-based campaign group Global Witness had triggered an uproar with a “sting” video in which a person posing as a foreign businessman is seen negotiating with purported relatives and associates of state chief Taib Mahmud.
In one part of the clip, which went viral after it was posted on Tuesday, a man introduced as a Taib family lawyer called Singapore “the new Switzerland” with a “China Wall” protecting the identities of Malaysian depositors.
The 16-minute video alleged that Taib’s relatives and associates get massive tracts of land at bargain prices from the state, sell companies owning the land titles to foreigners, and then take payment in Singapore to evade taxes.
“The allegation is simply false,” said a joint statement by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the finance ministry sent.
“Contrary to what was claimed in the video, Singapore has to date provided fully the information requested by Malaysia for tax purposes. The two countries have had a good working relationship on tax matters, and continue to build on this relationship to strengthen cooperation.”