Regulators in Singapore announced fines of more than AU$7.1 Million against two banks that were found to have breached money laundering rules in dealings with 1MDB. the Malaysian development fund at the heart of a massive corruption scandal.

One of the banks is the local branch of Standard Chartered Bank of London, which Singapore's Monetary Authority criticizes for "significant lapses" in customer due diligence measures and controls.  The other is the Singapore branch of private bank Coutt, fined for inadequate customer due diligence on "politically exposed persons".  Coutts was already winding down its Singapore operations after the Royal Bank of Scotland sold it to Union Bancaire Privee earlier this year.

"The control lapses stemmed from inadequacies in policies and procedures, insufficient independent oversight of front office staff, and a lack of awareness of money laundering risks among some bank staff," the Monetary Authority of Singapore said in a statement.

A multinational probe found that that people close to Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak stole more than $1 billion from 1MDB.  Mr. Najib denies any wrongdoing.  Earlier this year, Singapore authorities "seized a large number of bank accounts" in connection with the Malaysian fund probe.  Regulators are expected give a final update on their findings in early 2017.