Source: United States Department of Justice News
U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland met Monday in Washington, D.C., with Attorney General of the Republic of Singapore Lucien Wong.
The leaders discussed the importance of cooperation in international criminal investigations and prosecutions, and on extradition and mutual legal assistance matters, in order to combat cybercrime, cryptocurrency crimes, financial fraud, money laundering, and drug trafficking.
In the meeting, Attorney General Garland thanked Attorney General Wong for the Singapore Attorney General’s Chambers assistance with the investigation of the global bribery and $4.5 billion embezzlement and money laundering scheme involving the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and for their recent excellent assistance with extraditions in other cases.
Attorney General Garland reaffirmed our increasingly close and outstanding bilateral relationship over the past decade with Singaporean law enforcement and the Singapore Attorney General’s Chambers.
“The Justice Department’s international law enforcement partnerships are integral to our efforts to uphold the rule of law and keep our country safe,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The Department is grateful for its relationship with our Singaporean law enforcement partners and looks forward to continuing our work together to combat transnational threats.”
Also attending the meeting were U.S. Ambassador to Singapore Jonathan Kaplan, Singapore Ambassador to the United States Ashok Kumar Mirpuri, Singapore Deputy Attorney General Ang Cheng Hock, Chief Prosecutor Tan Kiat Pheng, Deputy Public Prosecutor Ryan Lim, Deputy Assistant Attorney General and Counselor for International Affairs Bruce C. Swartz, and Justice Department Attaché for Maritime Southeast Asia Scott Simeon.
Following both Attorneys General meeting, the delegation from Singapore met with Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard Downing, the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team, and the FBI to discuss cybercrime, cryptocurrency and blockchain technology issues. They also met with the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section.