SINGAPORE - Since the 1MDB scandal broke, financial penalties of up to S$29.1 million have been imposed on eight banks in Singapore for various breaches of anti-money laundering regulations; BSI and Falcon Bank have shut down and prohibition orders have been slapped against four individuals. Some are among five who have also been charged and fined and/or jailed for their involvement.
Here's a quick look at the timeline of events:
April 15, 2016-Aug 17, 2016: Eleven charges including those of money laundering, cheating, forgery and obstruction of justice filed against Yeo Jiawei, former BSI wealth planner
April 20, 2016: One charge of corruption filed against Kelvin Ang Wee Keng, former remisier of Maybank Kim Eng Securities
May 24, 2016: MAS withdraws merchant bank licence of BSI Bank for breaches of anti-money laundering requirements, and poor management oversight of bank's operations. BSI fined S$13.3 million by MAS and 95 million Swiss Francs by Swiss financial watchdog Finma.
May 24, 2016: Six individuals from BSI referred to Singapore's Public Prosecutors - Mr Hans Peter Brunner, its former CEO; Mr Raj Sriram, former deputy CEO; Mr Kevin Michael Swampillai, former head of wealth management services; Yak Yew Chee, former senior private banker; Yeo Jiawei, former wealth planner; and Yvonne Seah Yew Foong, former senior private banker.
July 21 2016: MAS completes investigation of DBS, Standard Chartered Bank (Singapore branch); UBS AG (Singapore branch), Falcon Private Bank and Raffles Money Change.
Oct 10, 2016: Seven charges each filed against Yak Yew Chee and against Yvonne Seah
Oct 11, 2016: MAS withdraws merchant bank licence of Falcon Private Bank for serious failures in anti-money laundering controls and improper conduct by senior management at Switzerland head office and Singapore branch. Falcon fined S$4.3 million by MAS and ordered to disgorge 2.5 million CHF Swiss Francs by Finma
Oct 11, 2016: MAS imposes S$1 million fine on DBS and S$1.3 million fine on UBS
Nov 11, 2016: Yak Yew Chee fined S$24,000 and sentenced to 18 weeks' jail after pleading guilty to four of seven charges.
Dec 2, 2016: Fines imposed by MAS of S$5.2 million on Standard Chartered and S$2.4 million against Coutts & Co (Singapore branch) for breaches of anti-money laundering rules
Dec 2, 2016: MAS serves notice of intent to issue prohibition order against Tim Leissner, former director of Goldman Sachs (Singapore)
Dec 16, 2016: Yvonne Seah fined S$10,000 and sentenced to two weeks' jail after being found guilty of three of seven charges.
Dec 22, 2016: Yeo Jiawei found guilty of four counts of obstruction of justice and sentenced to 30 months' jail. He appeals conviction and sentence. Seven other charges involving cheating, money laundering and forgery still to be dealt with
Jan 7, 2017: 16 charges filed against Jens Fred Sturzenegger, former branch manager of Falcon Private Bank, including providing false information to authorities to cover up his knowledge of the bank's relationship with Malaysian tycoon Jho Low.
Jan 11, 2017: Sturzenegger fined S$128,000 after pleading guilty to six of 16 counts, and sentenced to 28 weeks' jail.
March 13, 2017: MAS bans Tim Leissner from Singapore's securities industry for 10 years for issuing an unauthorised letter to a financial institution and making false statements on the bank's behalf without its knowledge. MAS also serves notice of intention to issue lifetime ban against Sturzenegger and Yak Yew Chee and a 15-year ban against Yvonne Seah
May 24, 2017: Kelvin Ang pleads guilty to one charge of corruption and is fined S$9,000.
May 29, 2017: MAS imposes lifetime bans against Sturzenegger and Yak Yew Chee, and a 15-year ban against Yvonne Seah, now known as Seah Mei Ying.
May 30, 2017: MAS completes two-year review of eight banks involved in 1MDB related transactions that are known to date. MAS imposes S$700,000 fine against Credit Suisse and S$900,000 fine against UOB for breaches of anti-money laundering rules and control lapses.
May 30, 2017: MAS serves notice of intention to issue a six-year prohibition order each against Kelvin Ang Wee Keng and Lee Chee Waiy, former NRA Capital head of research; and a three-year ban against Kevin Scully, CEO of NRA Capital. Lee was found to have applied inappropriate methodology and assumptions in the valuation of Saudi oil company PetroSaudi Oil Services. Scully failed to ensure that Lee exercised sufficient care, judgement and objectivity in the valuation of PetroSaudi, MAS said.
