Singapore's central bank has said it is examining the extent of involvement by Goldman Sachs' local unit in bond deals for Malaysian state investor 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has been questioning banks and financial institutions since last year as part of investigations into possible money laundering in the city-state linked to 1MDB.

"MAS supervisory examination into the extent of Goldman Sachs (Singapore) Pte's involvement in the 1MDB bond deals is still ongoing," an MAS spokesman said in an e-mail statement to Reuters last Saturday.

"MAS will take decisive regulatory actions against any financial institution or individual in Singapore that has breached regulations or failed to meet the expected anti-money laundering standards," it said.

A Goldman Sachs spokesman in Hong Kong declined to comment on the Singapore inquiry.

The United States government alleged last month that billions of dollars were diverted from bond deals arranged by Goldman, for the personal use of officials and some people associated with the state fund.

Goldman Sachs, which earned close to US$600 million (S$804 million) to arrange and underwrite the 1MDB bonds, has not been accused of wrongdoing by the US authorities.

The Wall Street Journal, which earlier reported the MAS inquiry, also said the US authorities had issued subpoenas to Goldman Sachs for documents related to the bank's dealings with 1MDB.

REUTERS