Strong Eagle wrote:aikido wrote:Hi all,
me and family will relocate soon and we are intereseted to know if its possible to bring cash in foreigner currency( if convereted) lets say over 100k singapore $ and open a new bank account and deposit it over there in Singapore.
My question is:in order to open a new bank account(my wife is local) does she need any document to proove the source of income of these $ $ comes from or they just dont bother to ask?
your comments are very much appreciatted.
best regards and have a nice weekend everybody.
I can't see why you would bring cash. The exchange rate will be virtually the same for cash or wire transfer, probably worse for cash. You can check whether the sending or receiving bank will give you the best rates then either wire the foreing currency or Sing $$. Wire transfer fees are capped.
I have sent and received large amounts of money via wire transfer into and out of my company account. Nobody has ever asked a question. I've also watched an "uncle" bring in SGD 320,000 in cash in a paper bag... I know... I watched them count it. Nobody made him fill out anything to deposit the funds.
I want to say i'm surprised but i kind of feel that is par for the course in Asia (everyone willing to look the other way until the hand is caught painting toys with lead paint or stuffing xiao long bao with cardboard). I would think foreign banks subject to western country laws that actively try to prevent Money Laundering by: drug lorgs, wayward dictators, counterfeiters, tax evaders and other people supporting genocide campaigns.
I think it would be highly suspicious of any person who just waltzes into a bank and wants to OPEN a NEW account with 150,000 especially for a person who is a foreign citizen who arrived yesterday (a dead give away is the blood dripping from the suitcase). In the USA for example, i think every wire over 50,000 USD is monitored by the F.B.I. to determine the source of the funds. Lately a lot of foreign banks have been caught money laundering for various dictators (Citigroup Tokyo comes to mind)
If you're a regular customer (i.e. small business) and you come in the 3rd Thursday of every month to deposit 320,000 SGD then I think all is well as the bank knows you and has verified the funds and does the due diligence.
But if you're not a Sing citizen, and you show up with a suit case full of 150,000 SGD to open a new account...i would be prepared to verify the authtencity of the funds.