Singapore court jails Swiss banker over Malaysia scandal

A SWISS banker was jailed for seven months in Singapore yesterday for money laundering and other offences related to a corruption scandal involving neighbouring Malaysia’s state fund 1MDB.

Jens Fred Sturzenegger, 42, who headed the Singapore branch of Swiss lender Falcon Private Bank, was also fined 128 000 Singapore dollars (R1.2-million) after he pleaded guilty in a district court, making him the first foreigner linked to the scandal convicted in Singapore.

Allegations that huge sums were misappropriated from 1MDB have triggered a scandal which has embroiled Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, though the leader has denied any wrongdoing.

Three Singaporean private bankers from another Swiss lender, BSI, were jailed last year in relation to the affair.

Among them was Yeo Jiawei, who was sentenced to 30 months in prison for witness tampering and obstructing the 1MDB probe.

Other money-laundering charges are set for an April trial.

It was revealed during Yeo’s trial that he had worked closely with Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho, a family friend of Najib.

Najib founded the 1MDB fund while Low helped set it up and played a key role in its decisions. Low has also denied wrongdoing.

State prosecutors said Sturzenegger had lied when he told Singapore investigators he did not know it was Low who owned the Falcon bank accounts involved in the suspicious transactions.

Low had used the alias Eric Tan in his dealings with Falcon, but the prosecutors said Sturzenegger had been aware of it and had even met the Malaysian businessman.

Prosecutors also said that despite having suspicions of “astronomical sums” of more than $1-billion (R13.9-billion) moving into Low’s accounts at Falcon, Sturzenegger had not filed a suspicious transaction report to financial regulators.

Singapore kicked out Falcon Bank and BSI last year for what regulators called massive lapses in financial controls.

Both banks were allegedly used to transfer illicit funds.

The US and Switzerland have also launched investigations into the 1MDB fund.

Judge Ow Yong Tuck Leong said he agreed with the prosecution pleas to impose a deterrent sentence as Sturzenegger had shown “persistent deceitful conduct”. But he acknowledged that Sturzenegger had cooperated with the probe and was a first-time offender.