By Amanda Lee From Today Online, Singapore

SINGAPORE — A former wealth planner at Swiss private bank BSI who has been implicated in the 1MDB probe now faces two more charges.

Yeo Jiawei, 33, was charged earlier this month with receiving ill-gotten funds, amid global investigations into 1MDB, the Malaysian state investment fund.

In court on Thursday (April 28), Yeo was charged with cheating BSI Bank in 2012, by dishonestly concealing from the company that he would receive a sum of about US$1.6 million (S$2.15 million) per annum, in relation to a referral agreement he allegedly induced BSI into entering.

The referral agreement, dated Sept 14 2012, was between BSI and Bridge Partners Investment Management (Cayman). Under the agreement, BSI Bank would receive a fee amounting to 0.53 per cent of the assets under management of Bridge Partners Investment Management (Cayman).

According to the charge sheets, Bridge Partners Investment Management (Cayman) is the fund manager of Bridge Global Absolute Return Fund SPC — which is entirely owned by a company called Brazen Sky Limited (BSL).

BSL, in turn, paid an annual management fee to Bridge Partners Investment Management (Cayman) — a portion of which was allegedly paid to Yeo, through a company he owned called Bridgerock Investment Inc.

Yeo was also charged with attempting to intentionally pervert the course of justice by asking Singaporean businessman Samuel Goh Sze-Wei to lie to the police. On March 27 this year, Yeo allegedly asked Mr Goh to tell the police that monies Mr Goh transferred to Bridgerock Investment Inc were investments by the latter.

During the hearing, Second Solictor-General Kwek Mean Luck urged the court to allow Yeo to remain in remand, calling the case a “most complex, cross bounded investigation”, involving several jurisdictions. Yeo, he said, played a “central role” which is crucial and important to facilitating investigations.

District Judge (DJ) Christopher Goh asked the prosecution if further charges will be meted out against Yeo. In response, Mr Kwek said it depended on the investigations.

The prosecution also asked that Yeo be blocked from access to his lawyer Philip Fong. Mr Fong argued against this, saying the police and the Commercial Affairs Department have had more than ample time to investigate Yeo.

But DJ Goh ruled in favour of the prosecution on both requests. Yeo will be return to court on May 5.

Previously, Mr Fong had argued in court that his client is not a flight risk, as he is Singaporean and has a three-year-old daughter. His passport has also been impounded.

Yeo was first charged with an offence under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act on April 15. Court documents showed that around Jan 30 2013, Yeo received S$200,000 in his Bank of China account, allegedly his loot from cheating. While the charge made no mention of 1MDB, it stemmed from investigations into the fund’s money flows, Bloomberg reported.

IMAGE: 1MDB. Reuters file photo

For more on this story go to: http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/former-singapore-banker-faces-additional-charges-1mdb-linked-probe

See iNews Cayman related stories with links to others published April 17 2016 “Singapore’s NRA Capital emerges as valuer of 1MDB’s Cayman investments” at:
http://www.ieyenews.com/wordpress/singapores-nra-capital-emerges-as-valuer-of-1mdbs-cayman-investments/