UBS is understood to be stepping up scrutiny of funding sources for clients in Asian wealth centres

UBS is understood to be stepping up scrutiny of clients' sources of money in its fast-growing Asian wealth centres, requiring some clients to disclose more information to prevent further clashes with regulators. UBS is asking Deloitte and KPMG to assist in reviewing client documents, mainly in Singapore and Hong Kong, for signs of illegal activities such as money laundering, according to people familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the details are confidential. They said UBS was taking a more rigorous approach as some jurisdictions introduced stricter regulations. In some cases, people familiar with the matter said, inquiries date back more than a decade to documents, some of which are handwritten. The S $3 billion ($2.30 billion) money laundering scandal that erupted in 2023 has affected local and global banks, with Singaporean authorities stepping up rules and scrutiny of financial services firms over the past year.