SINGAPORE: In 15 months as an “independent consultant”, former BSI banker Yeo Jiawei earned S$23.9 million, a district court heard on Tuesday (Nov 22).
Prosecutors said he earned the money through “illicit means”, including secret deals with people linked to the multi-jurisdictional probe into scandal-hit Malaysian state fund 1MDB.
Those people include Malaysian tycoon Jho Low, close associate Eric Tan Kim Loong and Mohamed Ahmed Badawy Al Husseiny, former CEO of UAE’s sovereign wealth fund Aabar Investment PJS.
Yeo, 33, admitted he worked with the men but denied that his earnings were the result of under-the-counter deals. “In my mind, (this) is not illicit money,” he said.
His lawyer Philip Fong argued that the millions in referral fees that Yeo was paid was not unusual for deals worth billions of dollars.
At the close of his 12-day trial, Yeo blamed former colleagues and business associates who became witnesses for the prosecution for throwing him under the bus, accusing them of “lying to save their own skin”.
Yeo also questioned why despite incriminating themselves while testifying against him, his former boss Kevin Swampillai and former business partner Samuel Goh have not been charged.
The men had given evidence about a meeting they had with Yeo in March, during which he allegedly told them to “play poker” with the Commercial Affairs Department, so investigators would not uncover more incriminating evidence against him.
Throughout his four days on the stand, Yeo maintained that it was his boss, Mr Swampillai, who had instructed him to lie to the CAD.
“Basically, your defence in this case is a bare denial of the charges”, prosecutors retorted.
Court exhibit showing Yeo’s dealings with other figures linked to the probe.
Prosecutors argued that when investigators froze his bank accounts in March – a sign that the probe was escalating – Yeo tampered with another key witness, business associate Jose Pinto of Amicorp Group.
Yeo allegedly told Mr Pinto to get rid of his laptop as he was afraid that it may contain evidence linking him to Mr Low, Mr Tan and Mr Husseiny – all of whom Yeo had introduced to Amicorp bank.
Yeo is also accused of getting Mr Pinto to ask his colleague Aloysius Mun to feign ignorance about Yeo’s dealings with the bank should he be questioned by the CAD.
But Yeo’s lawyer pointed out there is a lack of evidence, apart from Mr Pinto’s word, to support the charge, since the alleged messages were sent via Telegram and have not been recovered.
The instant messaging app has an auto-delete function, which was why Yeo preferred to communicate via Telegram, prosecutors had argued during the trial. Witnesses, including Mr Pinto, had testified that Yeo told them to use Telegram to communicate out of paranoia that his communications were being tracked by investigators.
A verdict is expected on Dec 21, for charges of tampering with witnesses.
Yeo faces another seven counts, including for money laundering and cheating. Those will be dealt with at a separate trial expected to start in April next year.
