Singapore's housing regulator has instructed property developers to apply stringent anti-money laundering scrutiny to high-risk purchasers, while clarifying that the majority of buyers will not require additional checks, such as verification of wealth or fund sources.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority issued a notice on Tuesday stating that developers should adopt a "risk-proportionate" approach when conducting customer due diligence. For the vast majority of homebuyers, standard due diligence measures like identity verification and background screening are sufficient. Only buyers assessed as posing a higher risk of money laundering, terrorism financing, or proliferation financing will require enhanced due diligence.

According to the notice released on Tuesday, high-risk purchasers include foreign politically exposed persons and individuals from jurisdictions flagged by the Financial Action Task Force as requiring countermeasures or having deficiencies in anti-money laundering regulation.