Published by Finews Asia – 23rd June 2017
The first Swiss banker to be jailed over 1MDB has been released and returned to Switzerland, finews.asia can exclusively reveal.
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. Singapore’s regulator pinpointed improper conduct by senior management both locally as well as at the private bank’s Zurich head office.
Of Falcon’s senior management, only one person has been brought to book for the wrong-doing: Jens Sturzenegger, who ran Falcon’s offices in Singapore for over five years, until shortly before his arrest last October.
Sturzenegger was released from custody in Singapore recently and has returned to Switzerland, two sources familiar with the matter told finews.asia.
Two Visits Monthly
He was sentenced to 28 weeks incarceration in January, after pleading guilty to 6 of 16 charges. Sturzenegger, who was Falcon’s compliance head prior to managing the Asia branch, also paid a S$128,000 fine.
In jail, he was allowed two monthly visits: either two phone calls, or one 30-minute phone call and one face-to-face visit of 20 minutes at most. It isn’t clear how much of his sentence Sturzenegger served out, his exact release date, or the circumstances of his return to Switzerland.
A spokesman for Switzerland’s foreign office told finews.asia that a Swiss man held in Singapore had been released, without identifying the name Sturzenegger.
A spokeswoman for Singapore’s prison system declined to comment on what are considered confidential and personal matters in the city-state. Sturzenegger’s lawyer in Singapore, Tan Hee Joek of law firm Tan See Swan & Co, also declined comment.
Uphill Battle
The Swiss banker was accused of looking the other way on more than $1 billion in 1MDB flows and of later lying to investigators about his connection to Jho Low, who U.S. officials allege is the mastermind behind the illicit money trail out of Malaysia and into diamonds, fine art, and producing a Hollywood blockbuster.
The judge made clear that the sentencing of Sturzenegger, whose wife reportedly began working part-time to support the family when he was sacked by Falcon, is meant as a deterrent to other errant bankers.
A Swiss native in his early 40s who is married with a young daughter, Sturzenegger now faces the daunting task of restoring his reputation in Switzerland, rebuilding his career and eking out a living after paying off his hefty legal fees and the Singaporean fine. Through an intermediary, he declined to speak to finews.asia.
Falcon Scapegoat?
Sturzenegger is the only Swiss banker thus far to be charged over 1MDB. The scandal rocked Switzerland’s banking sector nearly as much as in Singapore, where Sturzenegger is banned for life from working.
Falcon, which declined to comment on Sturzenegger’s release, is viewed among bankers as having sacrificed the Swiss banker in order to extract the institute from the probe. The bank dismissed Sturzenegger precisely one week before he was arrested last October.
Sturzenegger submitted his guilty plea early, which was noted by the sentencing judge. His lawyer also argued Sturzenegger had expressed «remorse and regret» over his actions.
