Kuala Lumpur: An ex-banker testifying at Najib Razak’s 1MDB criminal trial told the High Court here today that he had made a substantial sum in “secret profits” from his dealings in 1MDB-related transactions for BSI Bank Singapore.
Kevin Swampillai, who worked for BSI between 2010 and 2016, said he had earned US$5 million on the side, which he concealed from his employer.
He admitted this during examination-in-chief by deputy public prosecutor Mustaffa P Kunyalam.
He said that, prior to that, he and a subordinate, Yeo Jiawei, had repeatedly asked the bank’s top management for a pay rise, citing the pressure they were facing when handling 1MDB-related transactions.
However, their requests were turned down.
“We felt it was unfair and – rather stupidly – we went to negotiate with the fiduciary fund managers for commissions to be paid to us,” said Swampillai.
Asked by Mustafa what became of the “secret profits” he received, Swampillai said he eventually “disgorged these benefits” to the Singaporean government.
Swampillai said he was slapped with a lifetime ban by the Monetary Authority of Singapore in 2020 for taking the “secret profits” and for misleading former 1MDB auditors from KPMG.
The hearing before Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues on April 17 and 18.
Najib is facing 25 counts of money laundering and abuse of power over alleged 1MDB funds amounting to RM2.28 billion deposited into his AmBank accounts between February 2011 and December 2014.
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