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.
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday said that its research institute has launched its first advanced artificial intelligence (AI) large language model (LLM) using traditional Chinese, with technology assistance from Nvidia Corp. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), said the LLM, FoxBrain, is expected to improve its data analysis capabilities for smart manufacturing, and electric vehicle and smart city development. An LLM is a type of AI trained on vast amounts of text data and uses deep learning techniques, particularly neural networks, to process and generate language. They are essential for building and improving AI-powered servers. Nvidia provided assistance
DOMESTIC SUPPLY: The probe comes as Donald Trump has called for the repeal of the US$52.7 billion CHIPS and Science Act, which the US Congress passed in 2022 The Office of the US Trade Representative is to hold a hearing tomorrow into older Chinese-made “legacy” semiconductors that could heap more US tariffs on chips from China that power everyday goods from cars to washing machines to telecoms equipment. The probe, which began during former US president Joe Biden’s tenure in December last year, aims to protect US and other semiconductor producers from China’s massive state-driven buildup of domestic chip supply. A 50 percent US tariff on Chinese semiconductors began on Jan. 1. Legacy chips use older manufacturing processes introduced more than a decade ago and are often far simpler than
STILL HOPEFUL: Delayed payment of NT$5.35 billion from an Indian server client sent its earnings plunging last year, but the firm expects a gradual pickup ahead Asustek Computer Inc (華碩), the world’s No. 5 PC vendor, yesterday reported an 87 percent slump in net profit for last year, dragged by a massive overdue payment from an Indian cloud service provider. The Indian customer has delayed payment totaling NT$5.35 billion (US$162.7 million), Asustek chief financial officer Nick Wu (吳長榮) told an online earnings conference. Asustek shipped servers to India between April and June last year. The customer told Asustek that it is launching multiple fundraising projects and expected to repay the debt in the short term, Wu said. The Indian customer accounted for less than 10 percent to Asustek’s
Gasoline and diesel prices this week are to decrease NT$0.5 and NT$1 per liter respectively as international crude prices continued to fall last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to decrease to NT$29.2, NT$30.7 and NT$32.7 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, while premium diesel is to cost NT$27.9 per liter at CPC stations and NT$27.7 at Formosa pumps, the companies said in separate statements. Global crude oil prices dropped last week after the eight OPEC+ members said they would
RSS