SINGAPORE’S two-year probe into the financial wrongdoing in 1Malaysia Development Bhd has resulted in record fines for eight banks and the closure of two banks.

Regulator Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), which announced this on May 31 on its website, said it has completed its two-year review, reports Business Times.

Two banks – BSI Bank and Falcon Private Bank – were slapped with fines amounting to S$13.3 million (RM41 million) and S$4.3 million for more than 50 breaches.

The two banks were also ordered to shut down in the island republic.

Six other banks – DBS Bank, UBS banks, Standard Chartered Bank, Coutts & Co, Credit Suisse and UOB Bank – were also fined a total of S$11.5 million.

MAS has also barred four individuals from Singapore’s securities industry.

Goldman Sachs’ Tim Leissner was slapped with a prohibition order (PO), barring him from working in the securities sector in Singapore, for 10 years.

Falcon Singapore branch manager Jens Fred Sturzenegger and BSI Bank’s Yak Yew Chee were given lifetime bans while Yvonne Seah, another BSI banker, was given a 15-year ban.

Sturzenegger was convicted for financial crimes, including giving false information to authorities in an attempt to cover up his knowledge of Falcon Bank’s relationship with Low Take Jho.

Yak and Seah were convicted of multiple counts of failing to report suspicious transactions and forging reference letters at BSI Bank for Low.

All three are not allowed to provide capital markets and financial advisory services or manage firms that are involved in the capital markets in Singapore.

MAS also gave notices of its intention to issue POs to former Maybank Kim Eng Securities’ Kelvin Ang Keng Wee, NRA Capital CEO Kevin Scully and its former research chief, Lee Chee Wai.

MAS alleged that it was through Ang’s introduction that NRA was appointed to value PetroSaudi Oil Services Limited. Ang was convicted on May 24 for bribing Lee with S$3,000 to expedite the valuation report.

Lee was the primary person in NRA working on the valuation. Apart from accepting the bribe, Lee was found to have used inappropriate methodology in the valuations.

As CEO of NRA, Scully was found to have failed to ensure his analyst, Lee, had exercised sufficient care, judgment and objectivity in the valuation. – June 12, 2017.