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Six former, current senior bank staff under investigation

SINGAPORE — The names of six former and current senior BSI Bank management and staff — including its former wealth planner Yeo Jiawei, who has already been charged with various offences — have been referred to the Public Prosecutor, to assess if they have committed criminal offences, said the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

Mr Raj Sriram (left) and Mr Hans Peter Brunner are among six individuals referred to the Public Prosecutor by the MAS. Photos: Reuters, Bloomberg

Mr Raj Sriram (left) and Mr Hans Peter Brunner are among six individuals referred to the Public Prosecutor by the MAS. Photos: Reuters, Bloomberg

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SINGAPORE — The names of six former and current senior BSI Bank management and staff — including its former wealth planner Yeo Jiawei, who has already been charged with various offences — have been referred to the Public Prosecutor, to assess if they have committed criminal offences, said the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

This comes as the MAS announced yesterday that it had ordered the closure of the Swiss private bank in Singapore for serious breaches of anti-money laundering requirements. BSI Bank has been linked to a global investigation into Malaysia’s state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB). Apart from Yeo, the five include the Swiss bank’s former CEO, Mr Hans Peter Brunner, and Mr Raj Sriram, the former deputy CEO.

The rest of the staff named by MAS are Mr Kevin Michael Swampillai, head of wealth management services who is currently suspended by the bank; Mr Yak Yew Chee, former senior private banker; and Ms Seah Yew Foong Yvonne, former senior private banker.

Yeo, who is currently in remand, has been charged with various offences. These include allegedly cheating BSI in 2013 by dishonest concealment, transferring funds which represented his benefit from cheating and perverting the course of justice.

Further charges against Yeo “will be tendered in due course”, the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) said in a separate statement yesterday.

As for the other five individuals named by MAS, the AGC said it will be working with the Commercial Affairs Department to review the facts before assessing the next appropriate course of action.

In its statement, the MAS said it found “considerable evidence of gross dereliction of duty and failure to discharge oversight responsibilities on the part of BSI Bank’s senior management”. It added: “Their ineffective governance led to a poor risk culture, which prioritised questionable customer demands ahead of compliance with anti-money laundering regulations and the bank’s own internal controls.”

According to the MAS, several of the bank staff also committed “wilful acts of misconduct”, such as making material misrepresentations to auditors, and abetting improper valuations of assets. Some of the BSI staff also took instructions from persons “other than customers’ authorised representatives” on matters relating to customers’ accounts.

“The severe lapses and failings in BSI Bank, which led to MAS’ decision to withdraw the bank’s status as a merchant bank, were the result of the actions or omissions of these individuals,” the MAS said.

BSI Bank, which has been operating as a merchant bank in Singapore since November 2005, offers private banking services. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Switzerland-based BSI SA, which was founded in 1873.

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