The trial of former BSI banker Yeo Jiawei commences today in Singapore. Yeo faces a total of 11 charges that include money laundering and tampering with witnesses in connection with 1MDB.
The trial, which is linked to the Swiss bank's illicit dealings with Malaysia's 1MDB, is scheduled to last nine days. The charges Yeo faces carry serious consequences.
Yeo is the first of several former bankers from Banca della Svizzera Italiana, or BSI, to go to trial. Proceedings are being closely watched by other private banking hubs including Switzerland, which has suffered a reputational wipeout in Asia thanks to the involvement of several of its banks in the scandal.
1MDB Scandal
If found guilty of money laundering, Yeo faces up to 10 years in prison. Obstructing investigations by tampering with a witness could also see him penalized with jail time for up to seven years.
The 1Malaysia Development Berhad's (1MDB) probe has ensnared several domestic and foreign – mainly Swiss – banks in Singapore, including DBS, UBS, Standard Chartered, and Falcon Private Bank.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore closed down Falcon in Singapore, and the bank's branch manager, Jens Sturzenegger, was arrested earlier this month.
More to Come?
Other former BSI Singapore personnel namely Yak Yew Chee and Yvonne Seah Yew Foong, were charged with seven offences each earlier this month.
Yak and Seah face forgery charges and are accused of «failing to disclose information on suspicious transactions to a Suspicious Transaction Reporting Officer.»
Other individuals, including former BSI Asia head Hanspeter Brunner, are being questioned or investigated, the regulator said earlier this month.
