bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Reuters

A Singapore court found a former wealth manager of Swiss bank BSI guilty of four charges on Wednesday in a case linked to a money-laundering investigation involving Malaysian fund 1MDB, the third BSI banker convicted in the city state this year.
District judge Ng Peng Hong found ex-BSI banker Yeo Jiawei guilty of attempting to pervert the course of justice by urging witnesses to lie to police and destroying evidence during an investigation into illicit money transfers linked to Malaysian sovereign wealth fund, 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
Yeo is facing seven separate charges, including money laundering, cheating and forgery, which the prosecution said he would be tried for next year. Prosecutors told reporters after the hearing that he “could face more charges”.
Singapore fines StanChart, Coutts and bars former Goldman Sachs banker for 1MDB-linked lapses
Yeo, 33, has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing during the month-long trial.
He appeared in court with his hands and feet in chains and appeared calm when the verdict was read out. He has been held in remand since April.
The prosecutors had charged that Yeo had amassed S$23.9 million (US$16.55 million) by taking secret profits from 1MDB-linked transactions during his work for the Singapore unit of BSI.
Singapore authorities have called the 1MDB-linked investigation the most complex, sophisticated and largest money laundering case they have handled. It involves at least six different jurisdictions.
Singapore’s central bank in May ordered the closure of the operations of the Singapore unit of the Swiss private bank and asked the Attorney General’s Chambers to investigate six members of its senior management and staff.
Singapore starts first trial in 1MDB scandal with banker who ‘pocketed $26 million’

Two of them, Yvonne Seah and Yak Yew Chee have already been convicted and sentenced on charges stemming from the money-laundering investigation linked to 1MDB.
A key figure in the scandal has also been released from a Thai prison and is awaiting deportation to Switzerland, his lawyer said.
Xavier Justo was sentenced in August 2015 to three years by a Bangkok court for attempting to blackmail his employer, Saudi oil explorer PetroSaudi International Ltd, over ties to 1MDB in a verdict later cut to two years. He was released from prison on Tuesday after qualifying for a widespread royal pardon handed by Thailand’s new king, said Worasit Piriyawiboon, the Swiss citizen’s lawyer.
He said his client was being held by immigration police until paperwork for his return to Switzerland could be prepared – a process that could take a day or two – but the legal proceedings in Thailand were complete.
Will China bail out Malaysia’s 1MDB? At what cost?
“Now he is free,” Worasit said. “The case is finished.”
The Malaysian fund, founded by Prime Minister Najib Razak, who previously chaired its advisory board, is the subject of money laundering investigations in at least six countries, including Switzerland, Singapore and the United States.
Officials at 1MDB and others, under the pretence of investing about US$1 billion in a joint venture between 1MDB and PetroSaudi, instead transferred about US$700 million to an account not associated with PetroSaudi, the U.S. Justice Department alleged in July.
PetroSaudi at the time said it was not party to the claim brought by US prosecutors and “is not, as far as it is aware, the subject of any investigation in any jurisdiction”. Najib and representatives for 1MDB have denied any wrongdoing.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg


US$10 million Fashion Valet fail prompts Anwar to probe Malaysia sovereign fund selections

A week after apology, Malaysian ex-PM Najib fails to end 5-year trial over 1MDB scandal

Malaysia PM Anwar Ibrahim responds to Najib Razak’s 1MDB apology

Malaysians left incredulous by apology from disgraced ex-PM Najib

Malaysia 1MDB scandal

Ex-BSI banker found guilty in Singapore of charges linked to 1MDB probe

Former wealth manager of Swiss bank BSI, Singaporean Yeo Jiawei. Photo: The Straits Times

FILE - In this Aug. 17, 2015 file photo, Swiss national Xavier Justo, left, is escorted by Thai Corrections officers as he leaves the Bangkok South Criminal Court in Bangkok, Thailand. Justo, who was convicted of blackmail linked to a Malaysian development fund scandal, has been freed after serving over a year in a Thai prison. Justo was one of around 30,000 inmates released early under a pardon by Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradevarangkun to mark his ascension to the throne on Dec. 1, 2016. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit,File)

News

Asia

Southeast Asia