The Asian city-state's regular varied punishment terms on two financial services professionals last week.

Singapore’s financial regulator has varied prohibition orders against two senior figures working in the Asian city-state, cutting the period of a ban on one of the persons and easing its impact on another.

A four-year ban had been imposed on Lim Fang Wee, a former Credit Suisse representative, in May last year. The Monetary Authority of Singapore had imposed the ban because Lim hadn’t honestly conducted business and wasn’t a fit and proper person to do so. Lim had deliberately concealed the identity of a true beneficial owner of three accounts at Credit Suisse, making it harder to detect suspicious transactions. Lee appealed the decision and the MAS’ Appeals Advisory Committee has shrunk the ban to three years, taking effect from 30 April this year.

In the second case, officials have decided to allow Kevin Scully, who had been banned for three years from providing financial services, to continue as a substantial shareholder of NRA Capital Pte, a licenced financial advisor.

On 19 December 2017, MAS banned Scully for three years, with effect from 18 December 2017. The regulator had acted because Scully’s “past performance was unsatisfactory”. He hadn’t ensured that NRA’s valuation service was performed with sufficient care, judgment and objectivity, MAS said in a statement. The decision was changed after Scully appealed the matter.

Scully can remain as a substantial NRA shareholder so long as he undertakes to exercise any rights over the shares he owns in NRA that would enable him to directly or indirectly influence the management and operations of NRA in any manner, other than receive dividends that shareholders might approve. Scully must also tell NRA’s directors and managers that he has made this undertaking and prove to MAS he has done so.

Apart from that variation, the prohibition order issued against Scully will continue to be in effect for a period of three years from 18 December 2017.