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Ex-BSI banker, accomplice issued stern warnings in lieu of prosecution for role in 1MDB scandal

SINGAPORE — Two men who were under investigation for their role in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal that saw them receive “secret profits” have been given stern warnings in lieu of prosecution because they had been cooperative, the police said.

Former BSI banker Kevin Michael Swampillai was initially charged with cheating the bank. His accomplice Samuel Wu was charged with abetting those crimes.
Former BSI banker Kevin Michael Swampillai was initially charged with cheating the bank. His accomplice Samuel Wu was charged with abetting those crimes.
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  • Two men were involved in secret agreements where they siphoned a cut of management fees paid by 1MDB subsidiaries
  • They received stern warnings in lieu of prosecution after fully cooperating with investigations, the police said
  • They also disclosed their secret arrangements and surrendered the illicit profits they received

SINGAPORE — Two men who were under investigation for their role in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal that saw them receive “secret profits” have been given stern warnings in lieu of prosecution because they had been cooperative, the police said.

In a statement on Friday (Jan 28), the police said former BSI banker Kevin Michael Swampillai and his accomplice Samuel Wu had fully cooperated with the authorities in disclosing their secret profits arrangement and disgorging the illicit funds they had received, including voluntarily repatriating overseas-held assets to Singapore.

“After careful consideration of the circumstances of the case and in consultation with the Attorney-General’s Chambers, the police have issued stern warnings in lieu of prosecution to Mr Swampillai and Mr Wu.” 

The warnings were issued between October and December last year.

They were issued to Mr Swampillai in lieu of prosecution for four counts of cheating BSI bank and to Mr Wu for four counts of abetting those crimes.

Officers from the Commercial Affairs Department investigated Mr Swampillai in relation to his role as head of wealth management services at BSI Singapore, where he oversaw the bank’s advisory and wealth management businesses with the subsidiaries of 1MDB.

The police said that between 2012 and 2013, Mr Swampillai and his then-colleague Yeo Jiawei assisted the 1MDB subsidiaries to invest assets through subscriptions into three funds. 

The Malaysian state fund’s subsidiaries would pay annual management fees to the investment managers of the funds.

Mr Swampillai and Yeo then hatched a plan to take a cut of the management fees for themselves and without their then-employer, BSI Singapore, finding out.

The pair enlisted Mr Wu to incorporate an intermediary company, Bridge Global Managers, to do so.

The company entered into secret agreements with the fund’s investment managers to receive a share of the management fees as referral fees.

Mr Wu then distributed the payments received by Bridge Global Managers among the three of them.

In 2017, Yeo — a close associate of Malaysian tycoon turned international fugitive Jho Low — was jailed for 54 months by a Singapore court for money laundering and cheating. The court heard then that he illegally pocketed more than US$3.5 million (S$4.7 million) through the scheme.

When he received that sentence, he was already halfway into a 30-month jail term after he was earlier found guilty of a separate charge of tampering with witnesses central to the 1MDB probe.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) also issued lifetime prohibition orders against Yeo in 2017 and against Mr Swampillai in 2020.

As Mr Wu was not an authorised financial advisory services representative at the time of the offences, MAS will take his conduct into account in assessing any of his future applications to be a representative, the police said.

The police also said that all requests for repatriation of assets and monies seized in relation to 1MDB investigations, including those disgorged by Mr Swampillai and Mr Wu, have been and will continue to be dealt with in accordance with Singapore’s laws.

Last December, the authorities in Singapore filed further court applications to return about S$10.3 million of seized 1MDB-related funds to the Malaysian government. 

These applications have been granted and the funds have been transferred, the police said.

To date, about S$88 million of seized 1MDB-related funds have been returned to Malaysia, they added.

Related topics

1MDB Jho Low BSI Malaysia cheat bank court

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