Ex-BSI banker took great pains to keep dealings a secret, court hears
BSI Bank. Photo: AFP
SINGAPORE — He came across as a discreet and understated person who would not live large or flaunt his wealth, but Yeo Jiawei wanted to hit the big time and had hatched the plan to pocket commission from certain transactions involving his employer — Swiss private bank BSI.
And when he started working for Malaysian businessman Low Taek Jho in mid-2014, Yeo, 33, once sent a photo of the interior of Low’s private jet to his former supervisor Kevin Michael Swampillai, alluding to his strong connections to Low. Mr Swampillai, former BSI head of wealth management services, was testifying on the second day of Yeo’s trial on Tuesday (Nov 1). He also detailed the lengths to which Yeo went to keep his dealings secret.
In the current case, Yeo is accused of interfering with key witnesses in an international money-laundering investigation believed to be linked to the scandal-hit 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) investment fund. Another seven charges for forgery, cheating and money laundering will be tackled separately in April next year.
Taking the stand as the prosecution’s fifth witness, Mr Swampillai said he noticed a change in Yeo last year after the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) launched investigations into the case. Both men were interviewed by the CAD last October, and Mr Swampillai was later identified by the Monetary Authority of Singapore as one of six senior BSI staff possibly running afoul of the law.
"Initially, communication was fairly open. But as things started to get tense ... our communications were almost exclusively through Telegram and the use of secondary phones," said Mr Swampillai, referring to the messaging platform that has a function to self-destruct messages. "(Yeo) suggested I get a phone line that wasn’t traceable to me."
Yeo also told Mr Swampillai to save his number under a fictitious name. "I started to feel paranoid ... I believe he was taking precautions (in case) he was being monitored by the authorities or his phone was being tapped," he said. They also began giving each other missed calls every morning "to keep each other informed that (they) were still out, not picked up by CAD".
When Mr Samuel Goh, who had acted as an intermediary in their scheme to cream commission from transactions involving BSI, was remanded by the CAD, Mr Swampillai said Yeo asked for a meeting on March 20 to "get our stories all in order ... (because) we needed to have some kind of joint defence against the allegations that CAD could throw at us".
A week later, they met Mr Goh at the Swiss Club. That meeting was shrouded in secrecy, recounted Mr Swampillai, with Yeo choosing to drive to his residence to take his car.
"It instantly occurred to me that he was trying to avoid any kind of attention by driving his car there, out of concern that his particulars would be taken down (by the security guard). Going in my car would circumvent the issue," said Mr Swampillai, who was a club member.
During that meeting, Yeo suggested they cook up a story about the nature of the transactions. Rather than reveal that the commission had been channelled to companies owned by Yeo and Mr Swampillai, they would lie that the funds were Mr Goh’s investments. Yeo also advised them to "play poker" with the CAD and deny the truth first, unless the investigators showed they had tangible evidence in their hands, said Mr Swampillai.
"I attempted to put down the story with the CAD. But I retracted it not long after that ... I decided to take an open and honest approach," he said. The trial continues on Wednesday (Nov 2).
