Switzerland's Xavier Justo, a potential key witness in the corruption probe surrounding Malaysian state fund 1MDB, has been pardoned by the incoming king of Thailand. The Swiss citizen's lawyer expects him to be home for the holiday.
Thailand's new King Maha Vajiralongkorn plans to pardon sentences for up to 150,000 prisoners, including Xavier Justo, according to Malaysia newswire «Bernama».
Justo had been convicted of trying to blackmail his former employer, Petrosaudi, with confidential documents stolen from the company. The documents suggested an involvement of Petrosaudi in the 1MDB scandal, a multi-billion corruption and money-laundering investigation spearheaded by the U.S. and also involving Switzerland and Singapore.
Petrosaudi, 1MDB Links
«He met the condition for his release from prison after receiving the latest royal pardon, as he has less than one year of his jail term,» Justo's lawyer, Worasit Piriyawiboon told «Bernama».
He is expected to be released within a week of receiving the pardon, which was published in royal documents on Sunday. Justo's lawyer said he expected the former IT specialist to celebrate Christmas with his family in Switzerland.
The new Thai king ascended to the throne almost two week ago after his father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, died in October. Bangkok had previously denied Justo's extradition to Switzerland, where authorities are presumably keen to question him about Petrosaudi, an 1MDB joint venture partner.
