File Photo: Agencies. 

SINGAPORE, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has taken several strong actions against financial institutions and individuals for market abuse, financial misconduct, and control breaches related to money laundering, MAS said in a press release Wednesday.

From January 2019 to June 2020, MAS detailed various enforcement actions taken for breaches of MAS regulations and requirements, according to its Enforcement Report published on Wednesday.

MAS imposed 11.7 million SG dollars (8.6 million U.S. dollars) in civil penalties and, together with the Attorney-General's Chambers, successfully secured the criminal convictions of nine individuals for market misconduct or related offences.

MAS also imposed 3.3 million SG dollars (2.4 million U.S. dollars) in composition penalties for money laundering-related control breaches, and issued 25 prohibition orders against unfit representatives.

MAS will continue to strengthen its enforcement regime, as the nature of financial misconduct grows in sophistication and complexity. MAS will also continually refine its processes and increasingly leverage technology to heighten effectiveness and efficiency in investigation, MAS said.