SINGAPORE: Singapore said Tuesday it had fined Credit Suisse and a local lender for breaches of the city-state's anti-money laundering laws relating to a corruption scandal at Malaysian state fund 1MDB.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the country's central bank, said it also imposed lifetime bans on two bankers and a 15-year prohibition order on a third following a two-year review of lenders involved in 1MDB-related transactions, reports AFP.

 The Swiss giant was fined Sg$700,000 ($505,000) and United Overseas Bank was penalised Sg$900,000 for breaching anti-money laundering laws and for control lapses related to fund flows involving 1MDB, the MAS said in a statement. "These include weaknesses in conducting due diligence on customers and inadequate scrutiny of customers' transactions and activities," the statement said, adding however that MAS did not detect "pervasive control weaknesses within" the two banks.

MAS also directed the banks "to appoint independent parties to assess and confirm... that rectification measures have been effectively implemented" and punish errant staff. Allegations that huge sums were misappropriated from 1MDB triggered a scandal in Malaysia that has embroiled Prime Minister Najib Razak, though he has denied any wrongdoing.

Singapore, a regional financial centre known for its tough stance against corruption, launched a probe following allegations that its financial system was used to move illicit funds. Four private bankers have been jailed so far as Singapore became the first country to hand down criminal convictions related to the 1MDB investigations.

The United States and Switzerland have also launched their own probes.

Two bankers, including Swiss national Jens Fred Sturzenegger, were slapped with lifetime bans from doing business in Singapore's financial industry and a third was banned for 15 years, the central bank said.