He was the man whose revelations prompted the investigations into the corruption and money laundering scandal involving Malaysian state fund 1MDB. The Swiss citizen has now been freed by Thailand and will be able to spend Christmas in his home tome of Geneva.
Xavier Justo is the name of the man in question. He has been freed as part of an amnesty granted following the death of Thai King Bhumibol. Justo spent some two years in prison in Bangkok and had about a year left of his sentence.
The citizen of Geneva is now set to travel back to Switzerland to spend Christmas at home, his lawyer told «Reuters» newswire.
Attempted Extortion
Justo, a former IT director at Petrosaudi, was taken into custody after demanding money from the company in exchange for not publishing information that linked Petrosaudi with 1MDB. Justo had stolen the data from his employer. Petrosaudi didn't succumb to the demand and Justo went to jail instead.
The data released however set a process in motion that led to closure of BSI private bank and Falcon Private Bank in Singapore. Singapore recently convicted two former BSI bankers on charges of forging documents and abetting money laundering. A third former BSI banker, Yeo Jiawei, is currently being tried.
