Opening of the verdict in the 1MDB trial against the Petrosaudi director
Published: Thursday, Aug 22nd 2024, 09:10
Updated At: Wednesday, Aug 28th 2024, 04:50
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The Criminal Chamber of the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona is opening the verdict against the director of the Petrosaudi company and his right-hand man today, Wednesday. The men are accused of diverting around 1.8 billion US dollars for themselves at the expense of the Malaysian state fund 1MDB. The defendants pleaded for acquittal.
The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) brought charges of fraud, breach of trust and qualified money laundering. They demanded prison sentences of ten years for the director of the Geneva-based company Petrosaudi and nine years for his deputy, a Swiss-British national. The main defendant is a citizen of Switzerland and Saudi Arabia.
During the three-week main hearing in April, two diametrically opposed interpretations of the facts faced each other. The federal prosecutor is of the opinion that the two men used a variety of tricks to deceive 1MDB executives.
Accomplices procured
They allegedly gave the impression that Petrosaudi had rights to huge oil fields in Turkmenistan. In addition, the director is said to have adorned himself with high-sounding titles to suggest close ties to the Saudi monarchy.
According to the BA, the two men also allegedly had accomplices at the head of the Malaysian fund in order to prevent strict checks from being carried out. These maneuvers are said to have siphoned off more than 1.8 billion US dollars between 2009 and 2010 via three sophisticated financial constructions.
Everything belongs to the king
The lawyers tried to prove the director's close ties to members of the royal family. One of the defense lawyers emphasized that Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy in which everything belongs to the king. A name like Petrosaudi could not have been used without the approval of the state.
The defense also emphasized that Petrosaudi's oil rights had existed and that all financial transactions had been serious. If there had been reckless trading, then it had been on the side of the Malaysian state fund.
In the 1MDB affair, a total of 4.5 billion US dollars was diverted - of which around 1.8 billion is believed to have come from the defendants. The entire operation was orchestrated by former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and his advisor Jho Low. In Malaysia, Razak was sentenced to twelve years in prison in 2020, which was reduced by half in February 2024. (Case SK.2023.24)
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