Wednesday, June 08, 2016

Singapore shocks its neighbor to the north...

There is more than meets the eye in the Singapore investigation into 1MDB and the subsequent forced closure by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) of the local operations of Swiss private bank BSI.

This was the first time in decades that the MAS has resorted to such actions. BSI has also been heavily fined and its former executives are under criminal investigation. Established in 1873, BSI was previously known as Banca della Szizzera Italiana.

In the first place, the 1MDB investigation must have come as a personal shock, even stab in the back, to Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak. After all, it has been known for decades that Singapore has happily harbored and laundered the ill-gotten gains of politicians, generals and crooked businessmen from around the region, notably Indonesia and Myanmar as well as Malaysia.

It must have been doubly wounding for Najib who in the past has made efforts to improve relations with Singapore, cooperating in a way unheard of under Mahathir Mohamed and being viewed as undemanding and cooperative by his Singapore counterparts. Full story...

Related posts:
  1. Goldman Sachs banker embroiled in massive overseas money scandal...
  2. Swiss freeze assets of Malaysian state fund...
  3. Embattled Malaysian PM Najib drops speech to global anti-corruption gathering...
  4. Malaysian chief minister's money laundering case ensnares UBS...

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