SINGAPORE (Nov 8): Jose Renato Carvalho Pinto, the seventh witness for the prosecution in the on-going trial of ex-BSI banker Yeo Jia Wei, under cross examination on Tuesday dismissed the notion that Yeo was “just an intermediary and a messenger”.
Philip Fong, the lawyer of former BSI wealth planner Yeo, attempted to cast doubt over earlier statements by Amicorp Group relationship manager Pinto, who had taken the stand on Monday.
Yeo, 33, is facing four charges of tampering with witnesses. He was arrested on March 17 in connection with money laundering activities surrounding Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
Poking holes in Pinto’s account
In his cross examination on Tuesday, Fong questioned Pinto over his allegations of Yeo’s relationship with Mohamed Ahmed Badawy Al-Husseiny.
Husseiny is the director of a Samoa-incorporated company called Aabar Investments PJS Limited and one of the key players in the scandal that has engulfed 1MDB.
Husseiny was also the CEO of Aabar Investments PJS, a subsidiary of International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC), which is owned by the Abu Dhabi government. On top of this, he was also listed as a director in at least three other “Aabars” with identical or almost identical names.
Pinto had implied that the relationship between the two went beyond a typical employer-employee affiliation.
"After he left BSI, Yeo was relaying instructions to Amicorp on behalf of his client, Aabar, and Al-Husseiny,” Fong said during his cross examination. “Amicorp ascertained [that the] source of instructions was ultimately from Al Husseiny? And Amicorp verified that to be the case?"
Pinto agreed.
"Yeo was just an intermediary and messenger?" Fong probed.
"A messenger doesn't fly private jets… or stay in (Emirates) Palace Hotel,” Pinto replied. “He wasn't just a DHL messenger."
To this, Fong accused Pinto of being envious of Yeo. He also called into question Amicorp’s due diligence processes when it failed to pick up on the multiple Aabar entities created by Yeo.
In July, the US Department of Justice filed a civil complaint claiming, among other things, that the BVI-incorporated Aabar Investments PJS Limited had been used to divert US$1.367 billion in proceeds from two bond sales made by 1MDB.
According to Pinto, Amicorp runs a subsidiary in Singapore, but most of its compliance work is done through an office in India.
Prior to July, Pinto added, Amicorp had no reason to believe Aabar International and Aabar Samoa were not owned by Abu Dhabi.
Hiding evidence
Pinto’s account so far implies that Yeo siphoned money from various transactions conducted under the cover of several fake entities created by Yeo to deceive both Amicorp and his employers.
Pinto testified Monday that he had received messages from Yeo in March asking him to stay away from Singapore and to destroy his laptop. This was for fear that the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) would get hold of the device, which could contain incriminating emails and other documents.
According to Pinto, Yeo saw a distinct “upgrade of his lifestyle,” which included private jets and luxury watches after he left BSI to work for Husseiny and Jho Low, the man at the centre of the 1MDB scandal.
Pinto also claimed Yeo arranged for Amicorp to pay invoices totalling US$1.36 million for 27 tickets for Low, Husseiny, and several other celebrities to the Manny Pacquiao boxing match at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in 2015.
The cheapest seat was US$30,000, while the most expensive was US$75,000. However, the prosecution had presented an image of a ticket to the boxing match extracted from Yeo’s mobile phone that indicated a price of only US$5,000.
The trial continues on Wednesday. Pinto’s former colleague at Amicorp, Mun Enci Aloysius, is expected to take the stand later this week.