The ongoing legal battle involving SRC International and former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak took a dramatic turn as a former banker, Kevin Michael Swampillai, testified that he doubted whether SRC International's board of directors was aware of the millions being funnelled through BSI Bank Singapore. Swampillai, the first witness in SRC International's US$1.18 billion civil suit against Najib, revealed that suspicions were raised within BSI Bank Singapore's compliance department regarding the transparency of SRC BVI's board regarding the funds.
Swampillai emphasized that while the responsibility for monitoring transactions and activities of politically exposed clients lies with the bank's compliance department and the Client Acceptance Committee (CAC), he personally raised his suspicions about SRC's transactions to his superiors. Despite escalating his concerns, no action was taken by the senior management of the bank.
Regarding the bank's standard operating procedure for conducting know-your-client (KYC) and anti-money-laundering (AML) checks, Swampillai clarified that it was not within his job responsibilities and thus outside his purview.
During cross-examination by Najib's counsel, Harvinderjit Singh, Swampillai affirmed his knowledge of SRC International and his role in reporting suspicions of fraudulent transactions to his superiors. He also testified that BSI Bank Singapore had failed to disclose sham transactions from SRC International to Singaporean authorities, attributing the oversight to the allure of fees.
Swampillai further revealed that Malaysian businessman Jho Low had instructed his former subordinate, Yak Yew Chee, in dealing with transactions involving SRC BVI. Despite his role as the relationship manager at BSI for several clients, including Low and 1MDB-related entities, Swampillai stated that he had not met any of SRC BVI's board of directors at the material time.
Najib, who is currently serving a jail sentence for his conviction over the misappropriation of SRC International's funds, is facing additional legal challenges from SRC International. The company, now wholly owned by the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MoF Inc), is seeking damages from Najib for breach of duties and trust, including the US$1.18 billion in losses suffered. The lawsuit alleges that Najib abused his power and obtained personal benefits from SRC International's funds during his tenure as Emeritus Advisor from May 1, 2012, to March 4, 2019.
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