SINGAPORE: An Indian-origin banker has been issued a 10-year prohibition order and 24 months of conditional warning for failing to report a suspicious transaction involving a jailed former Malaysian prime minister. Najib RazakiThe infamous company of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
Raj Sriram, former Deputy CEO and Head of Private Banking, Singapore Branch of BSI Bank Ltd.BSIS), the prohibition was issued and a warning to report suspicious transactions was issued on Monday, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (Masso) and the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said in a statement.
The injunction, which took effect on Monday, was issued by MAS, while a conditional warning was given by the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) of SPF, Channel News Asia reported.
The joint statement said the prohibition order prohibits Shriram from “providing any financial advisory service under the Financial Advisors Act or participating in the management, acting as a director or becoming a substantial shareholder of any financial advisory firm”. Is.
The CAD investigated Shriram in relation to his role in the business dealings of BSIS and links with subsidiaries of 1MDB and Aabar Investments PJS Ltd, an alleged subsidiary of Abu Dhabi-based Aabar Investments PJS.
The SPF and MAS said the department found that the MAS Notice on Prevention of Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism required merchant banks to file suspicious transaction reports in respect of transactions relating to 1 MDB to the BSIS. reasonable grounds”.
The statement said that the BSIS did not file the report due to the neglect of Shri Ram.
The SPF and MAS said that in consultation with the Attorney-General’s Chambers, the CAD issued a conditional warning in lieu of prosecuting Sriram for two offenses under the MAS Act.
Under the warning, Shriram paid an amount of SGD 150,000 to the Consolidated Fund of the Government of Singapore and committed to abstain from criminal conduct for a period of 24 months.
He will also continue to cooperate with CAD in investigations related to 1MDB and will not accept any directorship or positions of similar substance or form for a period of four years beginning September 6 last year.
The statement also said that a 10-year prohibition order is required for Sriram’s conduct as he held a senior position in the BSIS and that his neglect had contributed to the BSIS’s failure to file suspicious transaction reports.
Ho Hern Shin, deputy managing director of financial supervision at MAS, said: “BSIS, of which Mr. Sriram was deputy CEO and head of private banking, was a major conduit for the money tainted in the 1MDB debacle.”
He said that MAS withdrew BSIS’s license in May 2016 due to “serious and repeated violations” of laws to prevent money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
The ultimate responsibility for ensuring a financial institution’s compliance with such laws and regulations rests with its board of directors and senior management, the channel quoted Ho as saying.
SPF and MAS said that they took seriously the compliance of these laws and the filing of suspicious transaction reports.
CAD Director David Chew The Suspicious Transactions Reporting regime is a key pillar of Singapore’s approach to anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism.
“Singaporean authorities will not hesitate to take strict action against reporting entities, or their officers, who knowingly or negligently fail to file suspicious transaction reports when legally mandated to do so.”
1MDB was a sovereign fund established in 2009 with the help of Malaysian financier Zho Lo to promote economic growth.
Najib Razak, who was Prime Minister of Malaysia from 2009 to 2018, co-founded 1MDB and chaired its advisory board until 2016.
1MDB raised billions of dollars in bonds between 2009 and 2013 for use in investment projects and joint ventures.
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), conducting its largest-ever kleptocracy investigation, said that $4.5 billion was diverted to offshore bank accounts and shell companies, many of which were linked to Low.
According to media reports, Malaysian officials claim that there is no account of billions more people.
Najeeb, 69, has been serving a 12-year prison sentence for offenses related to 1MBD in Malaysia since August 2022.
Raj Sriram, former Deputy CEO and Head of Private Banking, Singapore Branch of BSI Bank Ltd.BSIS), the prohibition was issued and a warning to report suspicious transactions was issued on Monday, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (Masso) and the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said in a statement.
The injunction, which took effect on Monday, was issued by MAS, while a conditional warning was given by the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) of SPF, Channel News Asia reported.
The joint statement said the prohibition order prohibits Shriram from “providing any financial advisory service under the Financial Advisors Act or participating in the management, acting as a director or becoming a substantial shareholder of any financial advisory firm”. Is.
The CAD investigated Shriram in relation to his role in the business dealings of BSIS and links with subsidiaries of 1MDB and Aabar Investments PJS Ltd, an alleged subsidiary of Abu Dhabi-based Aabar Investments PJS.
The SPF and MAS said the department found that the MAS Notice on Prevention of Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism required merchant banks to file suspicious transaction reports in respect of transactions relating to 1 MDB to the BSIS. reasonable grounds”.
The statement said that the BSIS did not file the report due to the neglect of Shri Ram.
The SPF and MAS said that in consultation with the Attorney-General’s Chambers, the CAD issued a conditional warning in lieu of prosecuting Sriram for two offenses under the MAS Act.
Under the warning, Shriram paid an amount of SGD 150,000 to the Consolidated Fund of the Government of Singapore and committed to abstain from criminal conduct for a period of 24 months.
He will also continue to cooperate with CAD in investigations related to 1MDB and will not accept any directorship or positions of similar substance or form for a period of four years beginning September 6 last year.
The statement also said that a 10-year prohibition order is required for Sriram’s conduct as he held a senior position in the BSIS and that his neglect had contributed to the BSIS’s failure to file suspicious transaction reports.
Ho Hern Shin, deputy managing director of financial supervision at MAS, said: “BSIS, of which Mr. Sriram was deputy CEO and head of private banking, was a major conduit for the money tainted in the 1MDB debacle.”
He said that MAS withdrew BSIS’s license in May 2016 due to “serious and repeated violations” of laws to prevent money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
The ultimate responsibility for ensuring a financial institution’s compliance with such laws and regulations rests with its board of directors and senior management, the channel quoted Ho as saying.
SPF and MAS said that they took seriously the compliance of these laws and the filing of suspicious transaction reports.
CAD Director David Chew The Suspicious Transactions Reporting regime is a key pillar of Singapore’s approach to anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism.
“Singaporean authorities will not hesitate to take strict action against reporting entities, or their officers, who knowingly or negligently fail to file suspicious transaction reports when legally mandated to do so.”
1MDB was a sovereign fund established in 2009 with the help of Malaysian financier Zho Lo to promote economic growth.
Najib Razak, who was Prime Minister of Malaysia from 2009 to 2018, co-founded 1MDB and chaired its advisory board until 2016.
1MDB raised billions of dollars in bonds between 2009 and 2013 for use in investment projects and joint ventures.
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), conducting its largest-ever kleptocracy investigation, said that $4.5 billion was diverted to offshore bank accounts and shell companies, many of which were linked to Low.
According to media reports, Malaysian officials claim that there is no account of billions more people.
Najeeb, 69, has been serving a 12-year prison sentence for offenses related to 1MBD in Malaysia since August 2022.