BSI Bank loses appeal to strike out 1MDB's US$394mil claim in S'pore
The suit in Singapore is part of 1MDB's worldwide efforts to recover assets misappropriated from the sovereign wealth fund. (AP pic)
PETALING JAYA : The High Court in Singapore has rejected all appeals by the now-defunct BSI Bank Ltd to dismiss a US$394 million claim filed by 1MDB and its subsidiary Brazen Sky Ltd.
The suit, filed on May 2, seeks redress for large-scale financial losses, said to be suffered as a result of unauthorised transfers and money laundering schemes through accounts at the bank, which is now under liquidation.
'We are committed to holding accountable the institutions and individuals involved in misappropriating money from Malaysia's sovereign wealth fund. These efforts aim to ensure the rightful recovery and return of assets to the Malaysian people,' a spokesman for the 1MDB board said in a statement today.
In the suit, 1MDB and Brazen Sky allege that BSI and several former officers played a key role in facilitating unauthorised transfers and money laundering schemes through BSI accounts, contributing to the massive 1MDB scandal that saw billions misappropriated from the sovereign wealth fund.
BSI had sought to strike out the claim, arguing, among other matters, that the lawsuit was time-barred.
However, on May 27, Justice Andre Maniam dismissed all of BSI's grounds for appeal and ordered the bank to pay costs to 1MDB and Brazen Sky.
The court's decision clears the way for full legal action against BSI, which commenced in May, to proceed, 1MDB said.
The bank has been operating as a merchant bank in Singapore since November 2005, offering private banking services. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BSI SA, a bank founded in 1873 and headquartered in Switzerland.
In parallel with the appeals, the joint liquidators for Brazen Sky have filed related claims in the Singapore High Court against BSI and its officers as part of the ongoing global asset recovery push by 1MDB.
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