Former BSI banker Yeo Jiawei became arrogant and dismissive of his former peers after he left the Swiss bank, a court heard on Monday.
A former associate of Yeo Jiawei testified that the disgraced BSI private banker hardened after leaving the Swiss bank in 2014 to work for Jho Low.
On Monday, the court heard that Yeo became «arrogant and aggressive», referring to his former co-workers and associates as «working level» employees who were to follow his instructions, Amicorp banker Jose Renato Carvalho Pinto testified on Monday for the prosecution according to local media.
Yeo boasted about attending a boxing match between Floyd Mayweather and Mannie Pacquaio in Las Vegas last May. Tickets for the fight, which Mayweather won by unanimous decision, went for as much as $250,000 each.
Private banks draw services like administration and legal advice from providers such as Amicorp, and Yeo and Pinto communicated at least weekly, the Amicorp banker said.
Over $4 Million for Gho
Pinto says he was asked to set up bank accounts for two shell companies, dubbed Aabar in an attempt to be linked with Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund. Pinto testified that he didn't realize the Aabar accounts were sham entities until Yeo was charged by Singapore prosecutors.
Yeo faces four counts of obstructing justice by directing former associates including Pinto to destroy laptop evidence and lie to Singapore investigators. He also stands accused of money-laundering in a separate trial.
A separate witness, former insurance broker Samuel Gho Sze-Wei, admitted under defense questioning that he had pocketed more than $4 million in a complicated scheme of kickbacks hidden from 1MDB. As with other prosecution witnesses, cross-examination by Yeo's lawyer made it clear that the defense intends to undermine their credibility as a witness by highlighting guilt.
Yeo's trial in Singapore has brought to light embarrassing revelations for BSI, which was was shut down in Singapore in May for allegedly helping to launder 1MDB money.
