Yvonne Seah Yew Foong (謝耀鳳), a former BSI SA private banker, yesterday became the second person to be convicted in Singapore’s probe into alleged money laundering linked to 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
Judge Salina Ishak found Seah guilty of three charges in a Singapore state court for aiding in forging documents and failing to report suspicious transactions allegedly related to Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho (劉特佐).
Prosecutors are taking into account four other charges in seeking a two-week jail sentence for Seah, 45, while her lawyer Peter Low asked for a fine.
Imposing a fine for the “well-heeled” like Seah is not a sufficient deterrent, prosecutor Nathaniel Khng (康永恩) said in seeking the prison term.
Seah’s conduct had harmed Singapore’s reputation, he said.
Seah’s supervisor, Yak Yew Chee (葉友志), is serving an 18-week jail term after being convicted last month for similar offenses. BSI was ordered in May to shut after authorities found serious anti-money laundering breaches.
Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low, has been identified by Singaporean authorities as a key person of interest in its 1MDB-linked probe and previously described his work with 1MDB as informal consulting work that did not break any laws.
Efforts to reach Low have not been successful. Both 1MDB and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, who formerly chaired 1MDB’s advisory board, have consistently denied any wrongdoing.
Both Yak and Seah serviced the accounts of Low, 1MDB and related entities, and were among six BSI employees referred to prosecutors by the central bank.
There was no evidence backing Seah’s claim that she found it “practically impossible” to disobey Yak’s instructions, prosecutor Khng said.
Yak and Seah had worked together for 17 years, including at Commerzbank AG, Coutts & Co and BSI, he said.
The verdict for another former BSI banker, Yeo Jiawei (楊家偉), is scheduled to be delivered on Wednesday next week.
Yeo was charged with obstructing justice by seeking to tamper with witnesses in the probe.
The domestic unit of the Chinese-owned, Dutch-headquartered chipmaker Nexperia BV will soon be able to produce semiconductors locally within China, according to two company sources. Nexperia is at the center of a global tug-of-war over critical semiconductor technology, with a Dutch court in February ordering a probe into alleged mismanagement at the company. The geopolitical tussle has disrupted supply chains, with some carmakers reportedly forced to cut production due to chip shortages. Local production would allow Nexperia’s domestic arm, Nexperia Semiconductors (China) Ltd (安世半導體中國), to bypass restrictions in place since October on the supply of silicon wafers — etched with tiny components to
Singapore-based ride-hailing and delivery giant Grab Holdings Ltd has applied for regulatory approval to acquire the Taiwan operations of Germany-based Delivery Hero SE's Foodpanda in a deal valued at about US$600 million. Grab submitted the filing to the Fair Trade Commission on Friday last week, with the transaction subject to regulatory review and approval, the company said in a statement yesterday. Its independent governance structure would help foster a healthy and competitive market in Taiwan if the deal is approved, Grab said. Grab, which is listed on the NASDAQ, said in the filing that US-based Uber Technologies Inc holds about 13 percent of
Taiwan is open to joining a global liquefied natural gas (LNG) program if one is created, but on the condition that countries provide delivery even in a scenario where there is a conflict with China, an energy department official said yesterday. While Taiwan’s priority is to have enough LNG at home, the nation is open to exploring potential strategic reserves in other countries such as Japan or South Korea, Energy Administration Deputy Director-General Chen Chung-hsien (陳崇憲) said. While the LNG market does not have a global reserve for emergencies like that of oil, the concept has been raised a few times —
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday received government approval to deploy its advanced 3-nanometer (3nm) process at its second fab currently under construction in Japan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a news release. The ministry green-lit the plan for the facility in Kumamoto, which is scheduled to start installing equipment and come online in 2028 with a monthly production capacity of 15,000 12-inch wafers, the ministry said. The Department of Investment Review in June 2024 authorized a US$5.26 billion investment for the facility, slated to manufacture 6- to 12nm chips, significantly less advanced than 3nm process. At a meeting with
RSS