4 bills businesses should know in 2024

One of the measures will screen investments in entities critical to Singapore's national security.

- Noreen Jazul

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES 

Singapore Business Review has curated a list of critical measures that are likely to impact business and investors alike in 2024, particularly against criminal activities and workplace discrimination.

“Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) (Amendment) Bill” (CDSA)

This bill regulates and addresses “the flow of funds arising from criminal activities, such as drug trafficking and corruption as well as money laundering.”

Recently, Singapore was rocked by its biggest money-laundering scandal to date which led to the arrest of 10 foreigners and seizure of more than $2.8b (US$2.1b) of assets that included 152 properties. The bill, however, was discussed in the Parliament even before the scandal broke out.

Keith Tnee, senior partner at Tan Kok Quan Partnership, said the amendments in the new bill seeks to address instances “where people may retain, control, have access to funds, which are the fruits of such criminal activities, which they either know or should have known of.”

“It seeks to extend the scope [of the older bill] to people who may negligently failed to investigate into the provenance of these offenses,” Tnee added.