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Singapore's Attorney-General Lucien Wong met with U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland on Monday (Apr. 10) in Washington DC, the capital of the U.S..

The two reaffirmed good bilateral relations between the two countries and discussed the importance of cooperation in areas such as cyber security.

Confirmed close bilateral relationship

Garland confirmed the increasingly close bilateral relationship between the U.S. and Singaporean law enforcement, as well as the Singapore Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC).

“The Justice Department’s international law enforcement partnerships are integral to our efforts to uphold the rule of law and keep our country safe,” Garland said.

“The Department is grateful for its relationship with our Singaporean law enforcement partners and looks forward to continuing our work together to combat transnational threats.”

Importance of cooperation

In their meeting, the two leaders highlighted the importance of cooperation in international criminal investigations, repatriation, and mutual legal assistance to combat cyber-related crimes, financial crimes, and drug trafficking.

Garland also expressed gratitude to Wong for AGC's assistance in investigating the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal, a US$4.5 billion (S$6 billion) embezzlement and money laundering scheme, as well as recent assistance with extraditions in other cases.

Delegation met with the FBI

Other senior officials from the U.S. and Singapore were also present in the meeting, including the U.S. Ambassador to Singapore Jonathan Kaplan and Singapore Ambassador to the United States Ashok Kumar Mirpuri.

The delegation from Singapore also met with Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard Downing, the FBI, and other enforcement teams to discuss cybercrime, cryptocurrency, and blockchain technology issues.

They also met with the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section.

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Top image via Attorney-General’s Chambers.