SINGAPORE, May 24 (Reuters) - Singapore's central bank said it had withdrawn Swiss bank BSI Bank's status as a merchant bank in Singapore and directed it to shut down for serious breaches of anti-money laundering requirements and other lapses.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said it has referred to the Public Prosecutor names of six members of BSI Bank's senior management and staff to evaluate whether they have committed criminal offences.

"This is the first time that MAS is withdrawing its approval for a merchant bank since 1984, when Jardine Fleming (Singapore) Pte Ltd was shut down for serious lapses in its advisory work," MAS said.

BSI's former employees have come under scrutiny for handling transactions linked to Malaysia's troubled state fund 1MDB.

(Reporting by Anshuman Daga, Saeed Azhar and Singapore bureau; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)