1MDB scandal: start of trial against two defendants in Bellinzona
Published: Friday, Mar 29th 2024, 10:10
Updated At: Tuesday, Apr 2nd 2024, 04:50
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The trial of two businessmen who are alleged to have been significantly involved in the scandal surrounding the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1MDB begins today, Tuesday, before the Criminal Chamber of the Federal Criminal Court. The Office of the Attorney General accuses them of mismanagement, fraud, money laundering and other offenses.
According to the indictment, the men created a system to siphon off funds. Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and his advisor Jho Low were also involved. The extent of the embezzlement is said to have amounted to around 4.5 billion US dollars, of which 1.8 billion US dollars is said to have flowed through the defendants' account.
The businessman, a 48-year-old Swiss-Saudi dual national, is accused of mismanagement, bribery of foreign public officials, forgery of documents, qualified money laundering and misconduct in public office. His 46-year-old partner holds a Swiss and a British passport and is facing the same charges, with the exception of forgery.
False state society
According to the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG), between 2009 and 2011 the first defendant arranged for the outflow of 1.8 billion US dollars from the state fund 1MDB to accounts held by his Geneva-based company Petrosaudi.
Based on the plan hatched by the players, the 1MDB board of directors believed that it was negotiating with a Saudi Arabian state-owned company that was active in the exploration and development of oil fields. In reality, Petrosaudi and the companies it controlled in the Cayman Islands and Turkmenistan were little more than empty shells.
The 1MDB fund was persuaded to enter into a joint venture with Petrosaudi. The fund made deposits, but the Geneva-based company's deposits only consisted of fictitious rights. In an initial phase, the fund was lightened by 1 billion US dollars by the end of 2009. Of this, 700 million went to an account held by Jho Low and 300 million to Petrosaudi.
Juicy restructuring
In a second step, a restructuring of the joint venture in 2010 led to further payments: 500 million for the joint venture - and according to BA in reality for the defendants - and 330 million for Jho Low.
The 1MDB scandal has led to criminal proceedings in several countries. In Malaysia, it triggered the fall of the Razak government in 2018. In 2020, he was sentenced to twelve years in prison and a fine of 210 million ringgit (44 million Swiss francs). In early February 2024, the Malaysian Board of Pardons and Paroles reduced the sentence to six years.
The trial is scheduled for the whole of April. The OAG will announce the required sentence at the main hearing. (Case SK.2023.24)
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