PETALING JAYA: A former banker from Singapore told the High Court today that he assumed former Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had known about the financial transactions between 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and its former subsidiary SRC International Sdn Bhd into fiduciary funds meant to give off an ‘optical illusion’.
Malay Mail reported that former head of wealth management services in the BSI Singapore bank, Kevin Michael Swampillai stated he believes that 1MDB and SRC International used the fiduciary funds to cover up any financial transactions made from the nation’s scrutiny.
Kevin had testified as the 44th prosecution witness in Najib’s trial over the embezzlement of the RM2.28 billion of 1MDB funds that were allegedly found in Najib’s private bank accounts.
He said that BSI’s clients 1MDB and SRC International, Brazen Sky Limited and Aabar Investment PJS Limited (known now to be a fake company instead of the actual firm located in Abu Dhabi) used fiduciary funds to carry out transactions.
Even when the company’s staff relayed instructions regarding the transactions to BSI’s relationship manager Yak Yew Chee, the former banker said that he was “always under the impression that these transactions were undertaken with the knowledge of the then prime minister Najib Razak”.
Kevin’s impression came about due to the fact that 1MDB and SRC were under the Finance Ministry at the time when Najib was its minister and also chairman of 1MDB’s board of advisers previously.
He also pointed out Low Taek Jho’s indication to his bank that he was “adviser to Najib” as it was mentioned to the former banker by his supervisors and BSI Bank relationship manager Yak Yew Chee.
Pertaining to Kevin believing that Najib knew about the fiduciary funds, he recounted BSI Bank’s “persistent questions” on where the money ended up and what it would be used for, but also said that Low affirmed that said transactions were “highly confidential” government investments not divulging anymore information.
Kevin added that he presented a topic on fiduciary solutions, requested by Yak in a meeting with Low in 2011 at the St Regis Hotel in Singapore, also attended by Kevin and Yak’s subordinate Yeo Jiawei.
He added that BSI Bank had opened an account under SRC after meeting up with Low while Brazen Sky and Aabar opened accounts in 2012 and 1MDB Global Investment Limited (1MDB GIL) in 2013.
The former BSI Bank employee shared that Low’s presence were a common theme as well as being under the Malaysian Finance Ministry and using fiduciary funds.
He noted that Low chose to use fiduciary fund structures although there were other fiduciary alternatives such as insurance and trust structures that can be used for hiding clients’ identities and layering money flows.
He said that he was unaware of Low’s intentions for using fiduciary funds back when the relationship between BSI Bank and Low together with the other companies began in 2011 however he is now of the belief that it is a scheme to give off the perception that 1MDB was involved in valid investments.
“However, with the benefit of hindsight based on the information that has come out in the public domain since 2015,
“It is evident to me that Jho Low intended that the fiduciary funds would be better at giving the optical illusion to various stakeholders in Malaysia and elsewhere that the funds belonging to SRC, 1MDB and Aabar were invested in bona fide investment instruments such as investment funds,” he said.
Kevin mentioned that the fudiciary funds used by the companies were “conduits to channel monies to various beneficiaries known only to” themselves while hiding their motives from “scrutiny by various stakeholders in Malaysia”.
He said that fudiciary funds have “virtually limitless flexibility” in terms of decision making as to where the money ends up at together with the timing and amount to be sent.
Kevin added that Yak would recall the instructions given by 1MDB, SRC International and the other clients to his wealth management services section.
He then said that Yak had taken a step further of keeping BSI Bank’s top management like its CEO, deputy CEO and risk management and compliance divisions updated on these instructions from the 1MDB group of clients, due to the transaction’s amounts and attention attracted within the bank’s head office in Switzerland and Singapore office.
Kevin is expected to continue testifying before judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah this afternoon.