Approvals Granted to Foreigners to Purchase Landed Properties under Residential Property Act 1976

3 Mr Leong Mun Wai asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) for each year since 2013, how many foreign persons have received approval to purchase terrace houses, semi-detached houses, detached or strata landed houses under the Residential Property Act 1976; (b) whether investigations into the sources of funds for the purchase of these properties are conducted before such approvals are granted; and (c) if not, why not.

Mrs Josephine Teo: Many Members have filed queries on the recent anti-money laundering operations conducted by the Police and Singapore’s anti-money laundering framework. The queries cover a wide range of issues across several Ministries. The Ministry of Home Affairs, together with various other Ministries, will respond to the queries comprehensively in a Ministerial Statement in October. [Please refer to "Singapore's Anti-Money Laundering Regime", Official Report, 03 October 2023, Vol 95, Issue 113, Ministerial Statements section.]