Singapore: 2 former BSI bankers charged over 1MDB

Two former senior private bankers at BSI Singapore were charged in connection with Singapore's 1MDB probe, on Monday. 

Yak Yew Chee, 57,  who was a senior vice president at BSI Singapore and Yvonne Seah Yew Foong, 45, a former director at the bank, were among six flagged by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to the Public Prosecutor regarding "serious misconduct" and whether they had committed criminal offences. 

The two face seven charges including forgery, most relating to accounts held by Jho Low, a Malaysian financier with close ties to 1MDB,  according to court papers filed Monday. They didn't enter any pleas and were released after posting bail of $25,500 each.  

The Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) said in a press release on Monday that the two were charged for various criminal offences. "Most of the offences relate to Low Taek Jho’s accounts with BSI Singapore," the AGC said. The next court hearing is set for November 24.

About the involvement in the money laundering's scandal in the Malaysian sovereign fund 1MDB, the Singapore authorities decreed the shutdown of the local unit of BSI in Singapore last May.

The BSI, which will be taken over by its competitor EFG International, has also been sanctioned by Switzerland: the Authority for the Financial Markets Surveillance Authority (FINMA) has decreed the dissolution of the bank's historic within 12 months since the institute, already suspected of inadequate controls with respect to money laundering, had continued to operate despite the supervisory board's warnings. The BSI submitted appeal to the Federal Administrative Court.