The former head of Banca della Svizzera Italiana in Asia has won a small but notable victory in an 1MDB investigation in Singapore, finews.asia has learned.
Hanspeter Brunner hasn’t left Singapore for nearly two and a half years: the ex-head of Banca della Svizzera Italiana, or BSI, in Asia had his passport seized by Singapore officials early in 2016. The move was part of a wider investigation into how banks in Singapore allegedly rinsed billions in 1MDB money.
Brunner has been awaiting his fate since he was relieved of his passport while attempting to leave Singapore. Earlier this month, the Swiss banker won a case to have his passport returned to him under certain conditions, Benno Hafner, his Swiss lawyer, told finews.asia.
Brunner must remain at the disposal of Singapore investigators, who are still probing 1MDB, Hafner said. The move represents a minor victory for Brunner, one of the highest-profile bankers to be connected to 1MDB.
Clean Up With 1MDB
The Malaysian end of a six-country probe into 1MDB has kicked into high gear with a change in regime in May. Ex-leader Najib Razak has been charged in the graft investigation, and his successor, Mahathir Mohamad, has promised to clean up with the past.
The scandal played out in Singapore’s finance center, where 1MDB’s protagonists allegedly laundered money and spent it on luxury real estate, diamonds, and bankrolling a Hollywood blockbuster.
Singapore has largely shut the 1MDB investigation into banks, and moved on some bankers: BSI was shut down, and ex-BSI wealth planner Yeo Jiawei is serving seven years in a Singapore jail for money-laundering, cheating, and witness-tampering.
Banker Fallout
Hafner, Brunner's lawyer, didn’t disclose what conditions are linked to Brunner’s winning back his passport. An investigation by the Commercial Affairs Department, Singapore’s white-collar crime investigators, is still pending, Hafner acknowledged. CAD didn't respond to several requests for comment.
The fallout from 1MDB has extracted a toll on several banks: Falcon Private Bank was shut down for dealing with the Malaysian wealth fund several months after BSI in Singapore. Falcon’s former head in the city-state, Jens Sturzenegger, left after serving a jail term.
Tim Leissner, Goldman Sachs’ former southeast Asia head, appears to be cooperating with prosecutors in the U.S. The former star banker was let go by Goldman and is banned in Singapore for ten years, as well as barred from the U.S. securities industry.
