1MDB money laundering case largest ever in S’pore
The Ministry of Finance (MoF) owned 1MDB is the subject of investigation in six countries, said prosecutors.
KUALA LUMPUR: Prosecutors in Singapore said on Friday that a cross-border investigation involving 1MDB in six countries was the largest ever money-laundering case in the city state, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
The statement by the prosecutors was in support of an application to deny bail to Yeo Jiawei, a former wealth manager at the Singapore branch of BSI SA which has been linked to 1MDB and money laundering.
The High Court previously overturned a lower court decision to grant Yeo bail. The High Court said that there was a risk that Yeo would interfere with witnesses.
Yeo, who appeared in Court on Friday in purple prison garb, shook his head in disagreement when the prosecutor said that he earlier interferred with witnesses.
The prosecutor said that he might do it again if released on bail.
Yeo has been charged with money laundering related to the 1MDB investigations. Another five people from BSI in Singapore have been referred by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to the Attorney-General for possible criminal offences.
Prosecutors, in oral statements in Court, said that investigations in Singapore was part of what is globally “one of the largest money laundering cases ever”.
An Affidavit in Support by Singapore police said that its investigation was into “complex, cross-border transactions involving staggering sums of money”.
Prosecutors disputed a statement by Yeo’s lawyer that he didn’t have sufficient access to his client. As a result, he claimed, he did not know whether his client intended to dispute the charges.
Another Yeo lawyer previously said that his client intended to fight the nine charges against him. They include attempts to pervert the course of justice and money laundering.
The WSJ said that it has viewed documents on an investigation led by the Commercial Affairs Department of the Singapore Police. The documents allege that money originating from 1MDB passed through BSI SA in Singapore.
The prosecutor’s comments, according to the WSJ report, demonstrate the extent of money laundering which took place at 1MDB.
Already, the Swiss Attorney-General has indicated that USD4 billion, it’s suspected, may have been misappropriated from 1MDB. An earlier statement by the Swiss AG’s Office put the figure at USD6 billion.
The Auditor-General in Malaysia reported to the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that USD7 billion of 1MDB assets and transactions overseas “cannot be verified or traced”.
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MALAYSIANS ESPECIALLY MALAYS MUST BE VERY PROUD THAT NAJIS TUN RAZAK NAME HAS ENTERED INTO GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS NOT ONCE BUT TWICE WITHIN A MONTH.
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