Second Singapore banker jailed two weeks in 1MDB scandal

SINGAPORE: A Singaporean private banker was sentenced to two weeks jail yesterday for fraud relating to Malaysia’s 1MDB fi nancial scandal, becoming the second person convicted in the international multi-billion dollar affair.

Allegations that huge sums were misappropriated from the Malaysian state fund through money laundering have triggered a massive corruption scandal in Malaysia.

Prosecutors say Yvonne Seah, a former director at the Singapore branch of Swiss bank BSI, helped forge documents and failed to report suspicious money transfers from accounts allegedly linked to Malaysian fi nancier Low Taek Jho.

Seah, 45, was sentenced to a fortnight in jail after pleading guilty to three charges of forgery and failure to report suspicious transactions related to the investment fund.

She was also fi ned Sg$ 10,000 by a Singapore district court.

Seah had faced a maximum penalty of four years jail and a Sg$ 20,000 fi ne.

Seah’s superior Yak Yew Chee, a former managing director of BSI, was last month sentenced to 18 weeks jail and fi ned Sg$ 24,000 for similar offences.

Prosecutors said the actions of Seah and her colleagues had “brought about a certain degree of disrepute to ( Singapore’s) fi nancial system”.

“Such conduct must be stamped out through the imposition of a deterrent sentence,” they said.

Singapore, a regional fi nancial hub, is known for its transparency and strong stance against corruption.

Since news of the scandal broke, several countries have launched criminal investigations, including the United States and Switzerland.

Singapore is the first country to successfully convict figures relating to the saga. — AFP