Bribery involving public or private sector individuals is a crime under the Prevention of Corruption Act 1960, enforced by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau, with fines of up to S$100,000 and up to 5 years' imprisonment per count, or 7 years for Government contracts. Anyone who, in the course of business or employment, knows or suspects property is linked to crime must file a suspicious transaction report, and UN sanctions apply to financial institutions through MAS regulations and to everyone else through the United Nations Act 2001. Listed companies follow the Code of Corporate Governance, and employers must insure most staff under the work injury compensation regime.
Bribery and corruption
The Prevention of Corruption Act 1960 applies whether the corruption involves public or private sector individuals, so commercial kickbacks are caught as well as bribes to officials. Each count carries a fine of up to S$100,000, imprisonment of up to 5 years, or both, rising to 7 years where the transaction relates to a contract or proposed contract with the Government. A person convicted of accepting a bribe is also ordered to pay a penalty equal to the amount received.
Gratification given to or received by a Government or public body employee is presumed corrupt unless the contrary is proved, which matters for gifts and hospitality to officials. Singapore citizens can be dealt with for corrupt acts committed abroad, so groups should apply one anti-bribery policy covering gifts, hospitality, agents and distributors across Singapore and the wider region.1234
Money laundering and sanctions
The duty to file a suspicious transaction report applies to anyone who, in the course of trade, profession, business or employment, knows or has reasonable grounds to suspect property may be connected to crime, not only to banks. Reports go to the Suspicious Transaction Reporting Office through its SONAR platform, and failure to report may be an offence. Separately, every person in Singapore and every Singapore citizen abroad must provide information about terrorism financing.
MAS gives effect to UN Security Council targeted financial sanctions for all financial institutions, which must screen customers and beneficial owners, while United Nations Act 2001 regulations apply to other businesses and individuals. MAS has also issued financial measures in relation to Russia. Banks and counterparties will often screen against US, EU and UK lists as well.567
Governance and insurance
SGX-listed companies must disclose their corporate governance practices and explain departures from the Code of Corporate Governance 2018 in their annual reports. Employers must hold work injury compensation insurance for all manual workers and for non-manual employees earning S$2,600 or less a month, excluding overtime, bonuses and allowances; failing to insure can lead to a fine of up to S$10,000, up to 12 months' imprisonment, or both.8910
Documents usually needed
- Anti-bribery and corruption policy with gifts and hospitality register
- Third-party and agent due diligence records
- Suspicious transaction escalation procedure and SONAR access for reporting
- Sanctions screening procedure for customers and suppliers
- Work injury compensation insurance policy from a designated insurer
Common mistakes
- Assuming private-sector kickbacks fall outside Singapore bribery law.
- Offering gifts or hospitality to public officials without allowing for the presumption of corruption.
- Treating suspicious transaction reporting as a duty only for banks.
- Relying on a bank's sanctions screening instead of screening counterparties directly.
- Failing to insure non-manual staff whose earnings fall at or below the S$2,600 work injury compensation threshold.
When the business crosses borders
- Singapore citizens remain exposed to prosecution for corrupt acts committed outside Singapore.
- Regional teams managed from Singapore should apply the Singapore anti-bribery standard together with foreign laws such as the US FCPA or UK Bribery Act where these apply.
- Singapore implements UN sanctions and MAS has issued financial measures in relation to Russia; other states' unilateral sanctions typically reach Singapore businesses through banking and contracts.
Questions businesses ask
Does Singapore bribery law cover private companies?
Yes. The Prevention of Corruption Act 1960 applies to corruption involving private sector individuals as well as public officials, with fines of up to S$100,000 and up to 5 years' imprisonment per count.12
Who must report suspicious transactions?
Any person who, in the course of trade, profession, business or employment, knows or has reasonable grounds to suspect property may be connected to criminal activity, reporting to the Suspicious Transaction Reporting Office through SONAR.5
Do UN sanctions apply to non-financial businesses?
Yes. MAS regulations apply UN targeted financial sanctions to financial institutions, and regulations under the United Nations Act 2001 apply them to other businesses and individuals in Singapore.7
What this guide does not yet confirm
These points need checking with a qualified local professional in Singapore before you rely on them.
- Whether the Prevention of Corruption Act allows any exception for facilitation payments was not confirmed; CPIB's pages and PACT guide do not address it and the statute sections could not yet be checked.
- Whether the 7-year enhanced penalty also applies to contracts with public bodies, and the penalties for bribing Members of Parliament, were not confirmed.
- The tipping-off offence and penalties for failing to file a suspicious transaction report were not confirmed.
- Corporate criminal liability, deferred prosecution agreements and penalties for companies were not researched.
- Whistle-blowing requirements (for example SGX listing rules on whistle-blowing policies) were not confirmed.
- Sector-specific AML/CFT obligations (corporate service providers, dealers in precious stones and metals, real estate) were not covered.
Sources and review status
Each statement is numbered to the source it was checked against. We use official sources where we can, and each statement says whether it was checked against an official or a secondary source. Sources last checked on 19 October 2026. None of it has been professionally reviewed yet: it is research checked against official and secondary sources by WONE Global, not legal or tax advice.
The Prevention of Corruption Act 1960 applies to corruption whether it involves public or private sector individuals or members of the public, and is enforced by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB). Covers giving and receiving gratification.
Re-checked on CPIB's page. The earlier statement that the Act has no exception for facilitation payments was removed from scope: neither the CPIB page nor CPIB's PACT guide addresses facilitation payments, and the statute text could not be loaded.
A corruption offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act 1960 is punishable by a fine of up to S$100,000, imprisonment of up to 5 years, or both, for each count, rising to up to 7 years' imprisonment where the corrupt transaction relates to a contract or proposed contract with the Government. Under section 13 the court also orders a person convicted of accepting a bribe to pay a penalty equal to the amount received.
Corrected: CPIB's page states the 7-year enhanced penalty for Government contracts; whether it also extends to public bodies under section 7 could not be confirmed because the statute sections on Singapore Statutes Online could not yet be checked.
Under the Prevention of Corruption Act 1960, gratification given to or received by a person employed by the Government or a public body is presumed to be corrupt, and the burden of rebutting the presumption lies with that person. Relevant to gifts and hospitality offered to public officials.
The Prevention of Corruption Act 1960 has extra-territorial effect for Singapore citizens, so a citizen can be dealt with for corrupt acts committed outside Singapore. Applies to Singapore citizens; liability of foreign nationals and foreign companies depends on the facts.
CPIB's PACT guide (, page 39) quotes section 37(1): the Act's provisions have effect, in relation to citizens of Singapore, outside as well as within Singapore.
A person who, in the course of trade, profession, business or employment, knows or has reasonable grounds to suspect that property may be connected to criminal activity must file a suspicious transaction report with the Suspicious Transaction Reporting Office, under section 45 of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992. Applies to all persons, not only regulated financial institutions. Reports are filed electronically through the STRO Online Notices and Reporting platform (SONAR). Failure to file may be a criminal offence.
Corrected: the tipping-off offence was removed from scope because the page does not mention it.
Every person in Singapore and every Singapore citizen outside Singapore has a duty to provide information about terrorism financing under sections 8 and 10 of the Terrorism (Suppression of Financing) Act 2002. Failure to provide information may be a criminal offence.
MAS gives effect to United Nations Security Council targeted financial sanctions for all financial institutions in Singapore through the Financial Services and Markets Regulations, while regulations made by the Minister for Law under the United Nations Act 2001 apply to non-financial institutions and natural persons in Singapore. Financial institutions must screen customers, including beneficial owners, against the designated lists. MAS has also issued financial measures in relation to Russia and to violent Israeli settlers. Banks and counterparties may additionally apply US, EU or UK sanctions under contract.
Corrected: the earlier scope said Singapore does not generally adopt unilateral sanctions; the MAS page lists financial measures in relation to Russia (MAS Notice SNR-N01) and violent Israeli settlers (SNR-N03), so that wording was removed.
Companies listed on the Singapore Exchange must, under the SGX Listing Rules, disclose their corporate governance practices and explain departures from the Code of Corporate Governance 2018 in their annual reports. The 2018 Code applies to annual reports for financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2019; the current PDF is the 6 August 2018 Code as revised on 11 January 2023. Private companies are not bound by the Code.
Employers must buy work injury compensation insurance for all employees doing manual work, regardless of salary, and for employees doing non-manual work who earn S$2,600 or less a month. Monthly salary for the threshold excludes overtime, bonuses, annual wage supplement, productivity incentive payments and allowances. Since 1 January 2021 policies must be issued by a designated insurer.
Confirmed; the S$2,600 threshold is current on the MOM page.
Failure to provide adequate work injury compensation insurance is an offence punishable by a fine of up to S$10,000, imprisonment of up to 12 months, or both.
Questions on this topic
10 statements on anti-corruption, financial crime and compliance in Singapore
