The Monetary Authority of Singapore has issued 3-year prohibition orders against Mr Paris Michele for dishonest conduct. As a representative of UBS AG at its Singapore branch, he allegedly forged documents and falsified company emails.

According to the prohibition orders, Michele is prohibited from performing any regulated activity in accordance with the Securities and Futures Act and from providing any financial advisory service under the Financial Advisors Act. He is also prohibited from taking part in the management of, acting as a director of, or becoming a substantial shareholder of any capital market and financial advisory services firm in accordance with those Acts.

Michele’s responsibilities at UBS included the checking of UBS customers' backgrounds and information. In 2013, he forged letters from foreign law firms to deceive UBS into believing that certain clients were tax-compliant in their home countries. He did not profit from the misconduct and UBS did not suffer monetary losses as a result of his forgery.

For this misconduct, Michele was convicted of forgery, having transgressed against s465 Penal Code (Cap 224), and was fined $13,200.

At UBS, Michele was also tasked to conduct background checks on persons dealing with UBS on behalf of other financial intermediaries. MAS’s investigators found that Michele had falsified emails about such background checks. The regulator is concerned that his forging of "customer due diligence documents," as it calls them, could have seriously compromised UBS' ability to combat money laundering and terrorist finance.