Published by Finews.asia – 12th July 2017
Yeo Jaiwei, the former wealth planner employed by now defunct BSI Bank, pleaded guilty in Singapore to money-laundering and cheating.
Yeo, who worked for the Lugano, Switzerland-headquartered Banca della Svizzera Italiana (BSI) bank from the end of 2009 until mid 2014, was convicted in December 2016 on four counts of witness tampering.
At that time he was sentenced to a total of 30 months jail for trying to hamper investigations related to the Malaysian fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad, or as it is now widely known around the world, 1MDB.
Numerous Charges
The latest sentence handed to the errant banker will will run concurrently, meaning Yeo faces a total of 84 months in jail.
Yeo, 34, was convicted on one charge each of money laundering and cheating, with eight other charges taken into consideration, a report in «The Straits Times» detailed.
Personal Wealth
Yeo allegedly made $23.9 million in the space of one year and three months at BSI and is said to have amassed $26 million from various sources, including illicit schemes to defraud BSI while he was an employee. During his initial trial the rapid rise of the banker’s personal wealth came to light.
U.K. publication «The Guardian» reported that Yeo had spend freely on Australian real estate using a Seychelles registered company to invest $8.2 million into prime Gold Coast properties.
Ongoing Developments
To date Singapore remains the only jurisdiction to have convicted several individuals involved in the 1MDB scandal.
finews.asia reported recently on the return to Switzerland of Jens Sturzenegger, who ran Falcon Private Bank’s Singapore office, the first Swiss banker to be jailed over 1MDB-related charges.
Falcon Private Bank was wiped out in Singapore: it paid a S$4.3 million fine before it was shut down for serious lapses in spotting 1MDB money being laundered.
More to follow….
