“The authorities are alive to the many and varied challenges posed by developments in the marketplace if and when they take place,” said Roderick Martin SC, Head of Litigation and Dispute Resolution, to The Edge Singapore

RHTLaw Taylor Wessing Head of Litigation and Dispute Resolution Practice Roderick Martin, SC was featured in The Edge Singapore article titled “Singapore responds as financial crime evolve”.

The article discussed how financial crimes have evolved over the years,  including a new generation of white-collar criminals and greater sums of money involved. It questioned whether Singapore built herself into an international financial centre for a cess pool for financial crime.

Mr Martin noted the scope of what constitutes as wrongdoing has expanded over the years. “Now, we have the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act, the Securities and Futures Act, the Companies Act, et cetera, that have outlawed many forms of financial malpractice,” he said.

Furthermore, as the business landscape evolved, so have the laws been constantly updated. Mr Martin added, “What all this shows is that the authorities are alive to the many and varied challenges posed by developments in the marketplace if and when they take place. It is therefore unfair to say that more can be done to combat financial malpractice. In fact, much has been done.”

As financial crimes evolve, it becomes increasingly difficult for authorities to predict where abuses of the law may happen. “Nobody has a crystal ball. It is therefore inevitable that the authorities will by and large be a step behind,” he said.

The full article, “Singapore responds as financial crime evolve,” can be found in The Edge Singapore, 13 March 2017.