Another Swiss ex-banker jailed over 1MDB scandal

Former Swiss banker Sturzenegger (left) with his lawyer on their way to the State Court in Singapore Keystone

A court in Singapore has handed down a further prison sentence to a former Swiss banker involved in a major scandal over the state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

Jens Sturzenegger, a former manager of the Falcon Private Bank in the city state, was found guilty of money laundering and other charges. He was given a seven-month prison term and was ordered to pay a fine of 128,000 Singapore dollars (CHF90,785).

The defendant had pleaded guilty to charges of failing to disclose a suspicious transaction of money worth €1.6 billion in March 2013 and giving false information.

Last year, the Singapore authorities jailed at least two former bankers from the Swiss wealth manager, BSI, on charges including forgery and failure to disclose suspicious transactions.

Both BSI and Falcon were forced to close their Singapore operations as a result of the failure to abide by the rules of the money laundering controls.

Investigations into the scandal over the hundreds of millions of assets in the 1MDB wealth fund are underway in at least six other countries, including Switzerland and the United States.