Yeo Jiawei, a former banker serving the longest jail term in Singapore’s 1MDB investigations, admitted to charges including money laundering.
Yeo played a role in the transactions involving the fund and made secret profits on the side, prosecutors said.
Yeo, who also pleaded guilty to cheating his former employer, agreed to help with Singapore’s money-laundering probes, which prosecutors described as the largest in the country’s history.
He was sentenced to 54 months in jail by the state court on Wednesday. The former BSI SA wealth planner was handed a 30-month term in December on charges of trying to tamper with witnesses in the probe.
Principal District Judge Ong Hian Sun said on Wednesday that the courts must take an “uncompromising stance” to safeguard the integrity of Singapore’s financial system.
Yeo had referred to Low as “boss” and spent at least one night at his house, according to earlier court proceedings.
Yeo previously said it was a misunderstanding that he worked for Low. His admission of guilt came after the Monetary Authority of Singapore wrapped up a two-year probe into flows related to the Malaysian investment fund.
Singapore has imposed a total of S$29.1 million ($21 million) in penalties on eight banks as part of its 1MDB probes.
- Credit Suisse Group AG and United Overseas Bank Ltd. were among the firms that paid penalties, while
- BSI and Falcon Private Bank Ltd. were also ordered to shut their local operations.
Yeo accumulated a net worth of S$23.9 million through “secret profits” in the 15 months after he left BSI in June 2014, prosecutors said in an earlier hearing. Yeo had said the money was earned legitimately.
Yeo’s lawyer Derek Kang said Wednesday that his client came from a humble background and had “no chance” of working again in the finance industry. Yeo will give up the profits he made from the offenses, Kang said.
Yeo had no knowledge that “the background transactions connected with 1MDB were in any way illicit” or that there was any illegal diversion of money from the Malaysian fund, Kang said in court. Yeo is remorseful and has agreed to be a witness for the prosecution if needed, Kang said.
The criminal case is Public Prosecutor v Yeo Jiawei, Singapore State Courts.
Click here to read a Quick Take Q&A about the worldwide probes into 1MDB. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-07-19/quicktake-q-a-malaysia-s-1mdb-fund-spawns-worldwide-probes
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