The former branch manager of Falcon Private Bank in Singapore has become the fifth person to be charged in the extensive and ongoing probe of the scandal-plagued Malaysian state investment fund.
In a report by financial news agency «Bloomberg» the authorities in the city-state have charged the ex-branch manager of Falcon Private Bank Jens Sturzenegger with 16 offences pertaining to Malaysian state fund, 1Malaysia Development Bhd, know familiarly known as 1MDB.
He intends to plead guilty, his lawyer Tan Hee Joek said in court.
In October 2016 finews.asia reported on the action by The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in withdrawing the merchant bank status of Falcon Private Bank, Singapore Branch, at that time news also broke that Sturzenegger had been arrested on 5 October 2016.
The MAS stated that it had conducted inspections on Falcon Bank in 2013 and 2015. The 2013 inspection found weaknesses in the bank’s controls for client acceptance and transaction surveillance that led to breaches of MAS’ AML requirements.
Details Emerging
Among the 16 charges, Sturzenegger is accused of is being complicit in Falcon's failure to submit reports on suspicious transactions relating to inflows of $1.26 billion into two Falcon bank accounts between March 21 ad 25, 2013, to the Suspicious Transactions Reporting Office of the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD), according to a report in the Straits Times.
In another charge Sturzenegger is accused of giving false information to a CAD officer that he met Eric Tan, a close business associate of Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho, on March 14, 2013 when in fact he had met Low himself.
Swiss Investigations
Falcon Bank had been operating as a merchant bank in Singapore since August 2008, offering boutique private banking services. The bank was originally owned by American International Group (AIG) and known as AIG Private Bank. In 2009, AIG Private Bank was acquired by Aabar Investments PJS and renamed as Falcon Bank.
Falcon Bank is also under investigation in Switzerland.
