1MDB CEO Arul Kanda supplied documents to various authorities to show how a sum of S$1.455 billion has been redeemed in cash from 1MDB subsidiary Brazen Sky’s offshore fund in the Cayman Islands and stored in US currency in BSI. PHOTO: REUTERS
Sunday, March 6, 2016
Singapore using bank secrecy laws to help 1 MDB perpetrators , but US IRS seems likely to force disclosure .Falcon Bank may be the chink in Singapore's armour.
by Ganesh Sahathevan
An ongoing tax matter that is being prosecuted by the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) provides some clues about how the Singapore Government may be using banking secrecy laws to ensure that evidence of the 1 MDB theft remains hidden if not obscured. According to Bloomberg:
The Internal Revenue Service is seeking to force UBS Group AG to turn over records on an account in Singapore held by a U.S. citizen, potentially opening a new front against offshore tax evasion beyond Switzerland.
Singapore Secrecy
The U.S. has focused largely on Switzerland in recent years as it has fought offshore tax evasion. More than 80 Swiss banks, including UBS and Credit Suisse Group AG, have agreed to pay a total of $5 billion or so in penalties and fines. The question is where the IRS and the Justice Department will turn next as they sift through a trove of data gathered from Swiss banks and from more than 50,000 U.S. taxpayers who disclosed their accounts to avoid prosecution.The Hsiaw case provides some clues. IRS agents served a summons on UBS in 2013 for records of his account in Singapore from 2001 to 2011. The bank said it couldn’t produce them because Singapore’s bank secrecy laws prevent disclosure without permission from Hsiaw, which he hasn’t provided, according to a court filing.
“Even if Singapore’s bank secrecy laws, as UBS contends, precludes disclosure of the summoned bank records relating or pertaining to Hsiaw’s Singapore account(s), international comity requires that the records be disclosed,” IRS revenue agent James Oertel said in the filing.
Neiman, the former prosecutor, said that “UBS can be held in contempt if they don’t produce the records. I think it’s the IRS’s way to start getting at Singapore.”
The 1 MDB matter is likely to give rise to a number of tax issues in the US given investments in that country by a number of main characters in the 1 MDB debacle.The main character ,Taek Jho Low, is said to be a US ciitzen, while his associates in the matter including PM Najib Razak's stepson have all been reported to have made investments in the hundreds of millions in the US out of the 1 MDB kitty.
Then there is this link which was reported on this blog:
Falcon Bank in breach of US Non-Prosecution Agreement: Swiss AG says quantum of related transactions is USD 4 billion,while Singapore MOF,MAS, remain silent
Meanwhile, the Singapore Government, notorious for its secrecy seems unable to comprehend that open source intelligence is a large and growing fascinating beast.
END
Thursday, March 3, 2016
Predicting Chinese submarine technology using Russian technology as a proxy in a Dempster Shafer framework-Part 1
by Ganesh Sahathevan
While attempting to predict what the state of the art in submarine technology might be even in 2020,let alone 2030, appears well beyond the capabilities of Australian defense planners, it is submitted an attempt can be made to determine the state of submarine technology in the future by comparing the best available today against its competitors,using information in the public domain.
Battle of the Submarines: Akula
versus Virginia
17 August 2012
Having sailed undetected into US waters; Russian Akula-class submarines are currently enjoying a spell in the limelight. Liam Stoker profiles the Akula-class against the American equivalent, the Virginia-class submarines, to determine which has the upper hand.
News of Russia sailing an Akula-class submarine into the Gulf of Mexico unnoticed may have highlighted a shocking shortfall of territorial security for the US, but it also underpinned the submarine's operational capabilities.
Boasting an improved stealth profile over its predecessors and an impressive top speed and diving range, the Akula-class submarines have become a crucial part of Russia's naval arsenal since their induction in 1984. The closest comparison to the Akula-class within the US Navy's fleet is the Virginia-class submarine, which has been in service with the US Navy since 2004.
With similar capabilities and operational profiles, just how do the Akula-class and Virginia-class submarines stack up against each other?
17 August 2012
Having sailed undetected into US waters; Russian Akula-class submarines are currently enjoying a spell in the limelight. Liam Stoker profiles the Akula-class against the American equivalent, the Virginia-class submarines, to determine which has the upper hand.
News of Russia sailing an Akula-class submarine into the Gulf of Mexico unnoticed may have highlighted a shocking shortfall of territorial security for the US, but it also underpinned the submarine's operational capabilities.
Boasting an improved stealth profile over its predecessors and an impressive top speed and diving range, the Akula-class submarines have become a crucial part of Russia's naval arsenal since their induction in 1984. The closest comparison to the Akula-class within the US Navy's fleet is the Virginia-class submarine, which has been in service with the US Navy since 2004.
With similar capabilities and operational profiles, just how do the Akula-class and Virginia-class submarines stack up against each other?
Weaponry and armament
Virginia-class submarines have one of the most advanced torpedo delivery systems in the US Navy fleet. Image courtesy of the US Navy.
Both attack submarines have distinctly similar levels of armament, with both the US and Russia complying with the START II Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty that capped the number of strategic missile submarines at 14. The Akula-class submarine's armament is split between four 533mm torpedo tubes, capable of carrying 28 torpedoes, and four 650mm torpedo tubes, capable of carrying 12 torpedoes. The Virginia-class submarines are also equipped with four 533mm torpedo tubes, however they are also equipped with 12 vertical launch systems capable of firing BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles.
Virginia-class submarines have one of the most advanced torpedo delivery systems in the US Navy fleet. Image courtesy of the US Navy.
Both attack submarines have distinctly similar levels of armament, with both the US and Russia complying with the START II Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty that capped the number of strategic missile submarines at 14. The Akula-class submarine's armament is split between four 533mm torpedo tubes, capable of carrying 28 torpedoes, and four 650mm torpedo tubes, capable of carrying 12 torpedoes. The Virginia-class submarines are also equipped with four 533mm torpedo tubes, however they are also equipped with 12 vertical launch systems capable of firing BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles.
Development and unit cost
A Virginia-class submarine under construction by Electric Boat. Image courtesy of the US Navy.
The Virginia-class submarines are more costly than their Russian, Akula-class counterparts as well. The estimated cost of an Akula-class submarine is $1.55bn compared to the original $2.4bn per unit price tag of an individual Virginia-class submarine. The original cost of Virginia-class submarines caused controversy as they were intended to be a cheaper alternative to the costly Seawolf submarines, causing the Navy to trigger a cost-reduction programme. The extensive use of commercial off-the-shelf equipment onboard and improvements in shipbuilding technology has reduced this cost to approximately $1.8bn per vessel.
A Virginia-class submarine under construction by Electric Boat. Image courtesy of the US Navy.
The Virginia-class submarines are more costly than their Russian, Akula-class counterparts as well. The estimated cost of an Akula-class submarine is $1.55bn compared to the original $2.4bn per unit price tag of an individual Virginia-class submarine. The original cost of Virginia-class submarines caused controversy as they were intended to be a cheaper alternative to the costly Seawolf submarines, causing the Navy to trigger a cost-reduction programme. The extensive use of commercial off-the-shelf equipment onboard and improvements in shipbuilding technology has reduced this cost to approximately $1.8bn per vessel.
Reactor and propulsion
An artist's conception of a Virginia-class submarine's movement whilst submerged. Image courtesy of the US Navy.
The Akula-class submarines are powered by one 190MW pressurised water nuclear reactor, one OK-7 steam turbine creating 43,000 hp and two OK-2 turbogenerators that produce 2,000 kW of power. Two OK-300 retractable electric propulsors for low-speed and quiet maneuvering have also been installed to increase stealthier operation of the submarine, although the top speed using this method of propulsion is capped at 5kt.
The reactor onboard the Virginia-class submarines has been purposefully designed for the Virginia-class by Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory. The pressurised water reactor offers increased energy density and a new steam generator design which results in improved corrosion resistance and reduced life-cycle costs. The reactor itself is designed to operate for a total of 33 years without refuelling, providing a significant advantage over other submarines that are forced to refuel. Virginia-class submarines rely on pump-jet propulsors for quiet operation, and they also reduce the risk of cavitation, which can cause damage to components.
An artist's conception of a Virginia-class submarine's movement whilst submerged. Image courtesy of the US Navy.
The Akula-class submarines are powered by one 190MW pressurised water nuclear reactor, one OK-7 steam turbine creating 43,000 hp and two OK-2 turbogenerators that produce 2,000 kW of power. Two OK-300 retractable electric propulsors for low-speed and quiet maneuvering have also been installed to increase stealthier operation of the submarine, although the top speed using this method of propulsion is capped at 5kt.
The reactor onboard the Virginia-class submarines has been purposefully designed for the Virginia-class by Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory. The pressurised water reactor offers increased energy density and a new steam generator design which results in improved corrosion resistance and reduced life-cycle costs. The reactor itself is designed to operate for a total of 33 years without refuelling, providing a significant advantage over other submarines that are forced to refuel. Virginia-class submarines rely on pump-jet propulsors for quiet operation, and they also reduce the risk of cavitation, which can cause damage to components.
Maximum depth, speed and endurance
An Akula-class submarine preparing to dive.
Russia's Akula-class submarines trump the Virginia-class submarines on both operating depth and speed, being capable of diving deeper and travelling faster whilst submerged. Akula-class submarines have a maximum operating depth of 600 metres, whereas the listed operational depth of a Virginia-class submarine is noted as greater than 250 metres. The Virginia-class submarines have a maximum speed in excess of 25 knots, whereas Akula-class submarines are capable of top speeds between 28 and 35 knots, although this is reduced significantly to 10 knots when sailing on the water's surface. The Virginia-class submarines are, however, designed to serve for longer periods of time than the Akula-class submarines, which have a maximum endurance of 100 days. The endurance period of a Virginia-class submarine is capped only at its food supplies, allowing for longer periods at sea if required.
An Akula-class submarine preparing to dive.
Russia's Akula-class submarines trump the Virginia-class submarines on both operating depth and speed, being capable of diving deeper and travelling faster whilst submerged. Akula-class submarines have a maximum operating depth of 600 metres, whereas the listed operational depth of a Virginia-class submarine is noted as greater than 250 metres. The Virginia-class submarines have a maximum speed in excess of 25 knots, whereas Akula-class submarines are capable of top speeds between 28 and 35 knots, although this is reduced significantly to 10 knots when sailing on the water's surface. The Virginia-class submarines are, however, designed to serve for longer periods of time than the Akula-class submarines, which have a maximum endurance of 100 days. The endurance period of a Virginia-class submarine is capped only at its food supplies, allowing for longer periods at sea if required.
Stealth
The Akula-II class submarines boast an impressive stealth profile, but not as impressive as the Virginia-class.
Having operated within the Gulf of Mexico undetected, the stealth capabilities of the Akula-class submarine have been vaunted in recent weeks. It is already acknowledged as the quietest nuclear attack submarine in service with the Russian navy, with sources claiming the Akula-II class submarines to possess a noise profile comparable to that of the US Los Angeles-class submarines.
The Virginia-class submarines can, however, go one further. Utilising newly-designed anechoic coatings, isolated structures and a new propulsor design, the Virginia-class submarines boast an acoustic signature lower than the Russian Akula-II class submarines, equivalent to that of the Seawolf-class submarines that they were designed to replace.
The Akula-II class submarines boast an impressive stealth profile, but not as impressive as the Virginia-class.
Having operated within the Gulf of Mexico undetected, the stealth capabilities of the Akula-class submarine have been vaunted in recent weeks. It is already acknowledged as the quietest nuclear attack submarine in service with the Russian navy, with sources claiming the Akula-II class submarines to possess a noise profile comparable to that of the US Los Angeles-class submarines.
The Virginia-class submarines can, however, go one further. Utilising newly-designed anechoic coatings, isolated structures and a new propulsor design, the Virginia-class submarines boast an acoustic signature lower than the Russian Akula-II class submarines, equivalent to that of the Seawolf-class submarines that they were designed to replace.
U.S. Navy Impressed with New Russian Attack Boat
By: Dave Majumdar
One of the U.S. Navy’s top submarine officers was so impressed with Russia’s new Project 885 nuclear attack boats that he had a model of K-329 Severodvinsk built for his office.
Rear Adm. Dave Johnson, Naval Sea Systems Command’s (NAVSEA) program executive officer (PEO) submarines said he had the model of Severodvinsk placed outside his office in a common area so that he could look at it every day on his way to his office.
“We’ll be facing tough potential opponents. One only has to look at the Severodvinsk, Russia’s version of a [nuclear guided missile submarine] (SSGN). I am so impressed with this ship that I had Carderock build a model from unclassified data.” Johnson said last week during the Naval Submarine League’s symposium in Falls Church, Va.
“The rest of the world’s undersea capability never stands still.”
“The rest of the world’s undersea capability never stands still.”
The Russian attack boat had been in construction since 1993 and only entered sea trials late in 2011. The boat finally became operational earlier this year. A cash-strapped Russian Federation had to repeatedly delay completion of the submarine in the chaos that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Severodvinsk is the most capable Russian attack submarine ever built and leverages many of the technologies the Soviet Union invested in during the 1970s and 1980s.
The 13,800-ton, 390-foot long, submarine is highly automated vessel with a crew of only 32 officers and 58 enlisted submariners.
It is far quieter than previous Russian submarines and has a maximum “silent” speed of about 20 knots.
The U.S. Naval Institute’s Combat Fleets of the World said some reports suggest the vessel might have a maximum speed of between 35 and 40 knots. However, most Russian reports state a maximum speed of 35 knots. Like most new nuclear submarine designs, Severodvinsk’s reactor is designed to last for the life of the boat.
According the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI), while the new Russian submarine is quieter than the Improved Los Angeles-class boats, the new vessel is not quite as silent as the Seawolf or Virginia-class. However, the Soviets were always only lagging slightly behind U.S. in quieting technology according to Navy sources. The Russians are already building improved versions of the Yasen design.
Unlike most Soviet submarine designs, the Yasen-class boats do not make use of a double-hull—instead it has hybrid design with a lighter structure over the vessel’s pressure hull according to Russia media reports.
Another unique feature for a Russian vessel is that it incorporates a spherical bow sonar called the Irtysh-Amfora for the first time. As a result, Severodvinsk has its torpedo tubes located at about mid-ship like U.S. submarines. The vessel has eight torpedo tubes, four of which are 650mm tubes while the rest are 533mm tubes. Combat Fleets of the World estimates that the Yasen-class might carry as many as 30 torpedoes.
Like most Russian attack submarines, the vessel’s primary weapons are in the form of heavy anti-ship missiles. The boat has 24 missile tubes which can carry the supersonic NPO Mashinostroyeniya P-800 Oniks anti-ship missile which can hit targets roughly 200 nautical miles away. Severodvinsk can also carry Novator RK-55 Granat nuclear-capable 1,600 nautical mile-range subsonic land attack cruise missiles. Additionally, the Yasen-class boats can also launch the 3M14 Kalibr and 3M54 Biryuza land attack and anti-ship missiles, which have a roughly 300-mile range, though its torpedo tubes.
It also carries 91R anti-submarine missiles and has the capability to lay mines along with its normal complement of torpedoes.
Some Russian sources such as Russia Beyond the Headlines suggest that Severodvinsk is equipped with active anti-torpedo defenses and some sort of anti-air capability. The later would not be unprecedented, the Project 941 Akula—known better as the Typhoon-class ballistic missile submarine—was equipped with a 9K38 Igla surface-to-air missile system for ship self-defense.
Russia is expected to build eight Yasen-class boats. Since Severodvinsk took almost two decades to finish, the subsequent boats have many technological refinements to improve on the original Project 885 design. The next two Yasen-class boats are already under construction at the Sevmash shipyards in Severodvinsk, Russia. Kazan was laid down in July of 2009 while Novosibirsk was laid down July of 2013.
Related
Turki Abdullah Can Always Say He Did Not Know That Jho Low Was Stealing From 1 MDB:Team Jho Low Is Now A Greater Liability.......
by Ganesh Sahathevan
Malaysian Minister Rahman Dahlan has declared that this meeting between PM Najib and King Salman of Saudi Arabia proves Najib's donation story:
Given all that is in the public domain, the Saudis would have at least wanted Najib to thank the King personally and publicly even if there is now some talk that it was not the King ,but his brother late King Abdullah's son Turki , who is supposed to have handed over that cash.
Turki however is not known to be that rich, but his most lucrative deals are said to have been done with one Teak Jho Low. Given the scandal that surrounds Low, it appears only logical for Turki to declare that he did not know that the money Low handed him had been stolen from 1 MDB.
And , in any case , he had "donated" what he made to Malaysia even when he did not know of the circumstances under which that money had been obtained...and now that PM Najib had in turn donated the bulk of what he had received to a charitable course that the prince is interested in......all that remains is for Jho Low and his gang to be brought to justice.
Readers are reminded that this writer said exactly seven months ago that Team Jho Low must know that it can and should be C4ed, a Malaysian euphemism for execution.
END
Malaysian Minister Rahman Dahlan has declared that this meeting between PM Najib and King Salman of Saudi Arabia proves Najib's donation story:
Given all that is in the public domain, the Saudis would have at least wanted Najib to thank the King personally and publicly even if there is now some talk that it was not the King ,but his brother late King Abdullah's son Turki , who is supposed to have handed over that cash.
Turki however is not known to be that rich, but his most lucrative deals are said to have been done with one Teak Jho Low. Given the scandal that surrounds Low, it appears only logical for Turki to declare that he did not know that the money Low handed him had been stolen from 1 MDB.
And , in any case , he had "donated" what he made to Malaysia even when he did not know of the circumstances under which that money had been obtained...and now that PM Najib had in turn donated the bulk of what he had received to a charitable course that the prince is interested in......all that remains is for Jho Low and his gang to be brought to justice.
Readers are reminded that this writer said exactly seven months ago that Team Jho Low must know that it can and should be C4ed, a Malaysian euphemism for execution.
END
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
Team Jho Low Is Now A Liability -Will It Be C4ed?
by Ganesh Sahathevan
The blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin recently wrote that the dismissals in Malaysia of among others the Attorney-General Ghani Patail were all part of moves by Prime Minister Najib Razak to counter criticism of his involvement in the 1 MDB issue.As Petra put it:
And that was when they (Najib's detractors) started playing up the issue of 1MDB, and after that the issue of the RM2.6 billion of 1MDB’s money that Najib allegedly transferred to his personal bank account and which has since disappeared.
In the weeks before the dismissals (and some arrests a number of persons were remanded by Malaysian Police to assist with investigations into the issue of thatRM2.6 billion of 1MDB’s money that Najib allegedly transferred to his personal bank account and which has since disappeared.
These persons remain at large ,and the relevant authorities said that they could not be located. Be that as it may, their involvement in the alleged transfer of funds remains an outstanding matter, and the very fact of their continued existence means that there remain persons who may have knowledge of the issues Najib wants put to rest. That they be permanently silenced is only logical.
Team Jho Low must know that it can and should be C4ed, a Malaysian euphemism for being executed.
TEAM JHO LOW
Jho Low
Casey Tang & Jasmine Loo
Lee Lin Sit
Tiffany Heah
The blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin recently wrote that the dismissals in Malaysia of among others the Attorney-General Ghani Patail were all part of moves by Prime Minister Najib Razak to counter criticism of his involvement in the 1 MDB issue.As Petra put it:
And that was when they (Najib's detractors) started playing up the issue of 1MDB, and after that the issue of the RM2.6 billion of 1MDB’s money that Najib allegedly transferred to his personal bank account and which has since disappeared.
In the weeks before the dismissals (and some arrests a number of persons were remanded by Malaysian Police to assist with investigations into the issue of thatRM2.6 billion of 1MDB’s money that Najib allegedly transferred to his personal bank account and which has since disappeared.
These persons remain at large ,and the relevant authorities said that they could not be located. Be that as it may, their involvement in the alleged transfer of funds remains an outstanding matter, and the very fact of their continued existence means that there remain persons who may have knowledge of the issues Najib wants put to rest. That they be permanently silenced is only logical.
Team Jho Low must know that it can and should be C4ed, a Malaysian euphemism for being executed.
TEAM JHO LOW
Jho Low
Casey Tang & Jasmine Loo
Lee Lin Sit
Tiffany Heah
Monday, February 29, 2016
WSJ story suggests Singapore did a deal with Nabjib to "return" money to 1 MDB :Unfortunately, Mr Yak has rained on the party.....
by Ganesh Sahathevan
The Wall Street Journal reported on 1 March 2016:
The attorney general (of Malaysia) said $681 million deposited to Prime Minister Najib Razak's account—identified by The Wall Street Journal last year—was a legal donation from a member of Saudi Arabia's royal family, and most was returned. The attorney general said there was nothing improper and it was time to stop scrutinizing the deposits, a notion echoed by Mr. Najib.
Investigators in two other countries, while agreeing most of the $681 million ultimately was returned, believe the money originated with a Malaysian state development fund called 1MDB that the prime minister founded, according to people familiar with the probes.
The investigators believe the money moved through a complex web of transactions in several countries and with the help of two former officials of Abu Dhabi, a Persian Gulf emirate with which 1MDB has deep ties.
The investigators are focusing on an entity they believe was a crucial conduit: a firm with a name almost identical to that of a state-owned Abu Dhabi company called Aabar Investments PJS.
The Wall Street Journal reported on 1 March 2016:
The attorney general (of Malaysia) said $681 million deposited to Prime Minister Najib Razak's account—identified by The Wall Street Journal last year—was a legal donation from a member of Saudi Arabia's royal family, and most was returned. The attorney general said there was nothing improper and it was time to stop scrutinizing the deposits, a notion echoed by Mr. Najib.
Investigators in two other countries, while agreeing most of the $681 million ultimately was returned, believe the money originated with a Malaysian state development fund called 1MDB that the prime minister founded, according to people familiar with the probes.
The investigators believe the money moved through a complex web of transactions in several countries and with the help of two former officials of Abu Dhabi, a Persian Gulf emirate with which 1MDB has deep ties.
The investigators are focusing on an entity they believe was a crucial conduit: a firm with a name almost identical to that of a state-owned Abu Dhabi company called Aabar Investments PJS.
It has been previously reported on this blog that Najib Razak made a number of secret lightning visits to Singapore over the Chinese New Year period this year.These clandestine visits, coming as they did after the AG declared Najib merely accepted a "donation" suggests that the trip had something to do with that "returned" money.That foreign investigators also accept that at least some of the money was "returned" suggests that this has become the new narrative; that really , this scandal was nothing more than the Malaysian Prime Minister who is also chairman of 1 MDB inadvertently mixing up his own money with that of 1 MDB, an error which he speedily rectified by returning the money from where it came ie 1 MDB's BSI Bank accounts in Singapore. This narrative would allow the Singapore Government to unfreeze the accounts frozen as part of its investigation into 1 MDB, and ensure that the best Malaysian Prime Minister Singapore has ever had remains in power.
Unfortunately, the court room revelations by their personal banker, Yak Yew Chee, has exposed that narrative to be nothing more than a bedtime story that even a child would find hard to believe.And then there is the matter of Arul Kanda Kandasamy........
END
Yak Won't Take The Rap
6 FEB 2016
The world learnt about the sort of salary that your friendly Singapore bank manager can hope to earn, when Mr Yak Yew Chee deposited his court papers yesterday.
No less than SNG$27 million in salary and, more importantly, bonuses in just four short years roared the news headlines.
Wow!
Another revelation that came out from the highly informative dossier, dumped by Mr Yak before the courts was that, despite him being on what was repeatedly described as “unpaid leave” since April 2015, the bank had nevertheless been sending him monthly salary cheques of $83,000.
The cheques, instead of normal bank transfers, were a handy concession by the bank, because he could cash them abroad, where his accounts were not frozen like they are in Singapore.
Yak provided the court with copies of the cheques to show just how generous his BSI employers were (above). The documents also showed that to begin with Yak had signed an agreement to take this so-called “unpaid leave” in May and to cooperate with the bank.
However, friction had already broken out between his legal advisors and the bank, with Yak making plain in April that his understanding that the measures being taken were to prepare the bank in case of an allegation being made against it and to protect him were not being upheld.
Yak was apparently being kept on the payroll in order to ensure his continued cooperation with the bank. However, the email trail makes clear he was suspicious of his employers motives in case they pinned the blame on him.
Was this the real reason he took his case public?
Jho Low links to 1MDB confirmed by his bank manager
Yak’s now public court papers have certainly thrown a great deal more light onto how the various Singapore private banks were handling Jho Low and his related accounts and in the process have scotched for ever the on-going lie that the businessman had nothing to do with 1MDB after 2009, as has been doggedly maintained by CEO Arul Kanda and Low himself.
Indeed, the proposed statutory declaration, which was being negotiated between Yak and his BSI employers in order to present the bank’s position to the investigating authorities, included the following damning points:
“I have not at any time entered into any arrangement to give of cause to be given any Gratification …relating to the accounts held with the BSI group by Brazen Sky Ltd, Low Tak Jho, 1Malaysia Development Berhad, Aabar Investments PJSC and/or their respective affiliates….We would clarify that the additional parties named are closely linked in the matrix of business relationships involving 1MDB/Brazen and Low, and we trust your client would agree that Gratification could conceivably have involved them and would be willing to negate any such suspicion.”
In other words BSI Bank were confirming that the affairs of 1MDB, Brazen Sky and Jho Low were inextricably intertwined… along with the bogus Aabar subsidiary Aabar Investments PJS Limited, which Yak also mentions in his statement (below).
Yet, over the bridge in Malaysia, the Prime Minister and his diminishing coterie of die hard supporters continues to ban this website and bully other online commentators using ‘anti-terrorism’ laws, on the grounds that we are promoting “falsehoods”.
To the contrary, according to 1MDB’s own bank, what we have said on this matter (as on several others) is now confirmed to be true. This may be why the PM’s tame AG has turned today to threatening life imprisonment for leaking ‘state secrets’ instead.
Yak’s “fantastic business success”
Yak made his tell-all application to the court, purportedly to unfreeze his accounts, in order to pay bills in Singapore. However, the Singapore Commercial Affairs Department countered with an aggressive rebuttal.
Responding to his application, the CAD pointed out that Yak had “squirrelled” over $5 million out into foreign banks before they had managed to freeze his accounts and that they had only some $7.91 million of his admitted $27 million in earnings under lock and key.
That left a “staggering S$9 million unaccounted for” raged the authority, which therefore argued that Yak could quite easily pay his bills by repatriating some of the millions he had parked abroad.
In the event, the authority reached an accommodation with Yak at the last minute on Friday, agreeing that the banker could bring money back from abroad to pay his bills, without measures being taken to freeze it.
It left the judge wondering why all this court time had been wasted… and the world’s media at liberty to examine all Yak’s dossier of insider documents laid before the court in the process.
It seems that Yak’s real reason, therefore, may have been to counter what he plainly suspected were manoeuvres by the bank to make him the scapegoat for what he insists were decisions that went right up to the top of BSI. Certainly, the dossier proves that by January this suspended relationship manager for Jho Low and 1MDB was at loggerheads with his bosses.
At issue were repeated demands by his line manager Hanspeter Brunner, CEO Asia, that Yak agree to attend the bank for questioning about a charge that he withheld information from his superiors about a ‘notice of security relating to one of the bank’s clients’.
Other papers make it perfectly plain that this ‘notice of security’ referred to none other than the massive loan made by Deutsche Bank of nearly US$1 billion to 1MDB, to finance its debt repayments in late 2014.
That loan was secured on the apparent US$1.03 billion alleged to be in 1MDB’s subsidiary account named Brazen Sky at BSI in Singapore, which Yak also managed.
After Sarawak Report revealed in May that the Singapore authorities had found that Brazen Sky actually had no cash in that account, Deutsche Bank pulled the loan.
In his correspondence with BSI, Yak himself claimed that he had done nothing without the approval of his bosses and that he had not referenced the said notice, because the client had told him not to proceed.
In all the correspondence, in fact, Yak repeatedly claimed that his superiors at the bank were fully aware of all his transactions with these mega clients of the bank.
Much of the increasingly hostile dialogue surrounded Yak’s plain reluctance to be called in for oral questioning about these matters by the bank and to sign their ‘notes’ on the proceedings without proper legal protection, full recordings and written questions in advance of any interrogation.
Saying he “had experience” of the bank’s record in such matters, Yak made clear he was fearful that his bosses would use anything he said in the informal and unrecorded meetings to pin all the blame on him.
In response, his superiors, whom we now know were still paying him and further offering a potential bonus payment if he cooperated with their wishes, expressed a growing anger and frustration over Yak’s refusal to cooperate, except on his own terms of written questions in advance and a full recording of the discussion being made.
But, Yak was adamant that he did not trust his employers to make a fair record of the interview. If BSI had continued to pay him and discuss his bonus during this “unpaid leave” it wasn’t producing the desired cooperation.
Thank you for your immense contribution
Yak’s court deposition carefully contains ample evidence to back his point that far from being a rogue banker, he had been BSI’s star employee right till the moment when the regulators began investigating Jho Low’s accounts at the bank.
Indeed, the documents show, he was praised from the very top for his “fantastic success” in bringing in business by none other than Dr Alfredo Gysi, the Swiss boss of the BSI group, who sent him a personal letter of congratulation at the end of 2011.
Incidentally, it was shortly after Yak joined in September 2009 that Jho Low had opened his ADKMIC account and several other personal and business accounts at BSI and started transferring half a billion dollars from his RBS Coutts Zurich Good Star account to BSI.
Was this the reason for the plaudits?
“Hanspeter told me about the fantastic business success you achieved in the last few weeks…. He also told me this was done in close teamwork.. thank you for your immense contribution not only to the growth of our new Asia business but to BSI Group as well” gushed CEO, Dr Gysi.
Yak’s bonus incentives
It should be remembered that Yak transferred to BSI from Coutts Singapore, from where he had earlier managed Jho Low’s accounts and it can be surmised that one of the reasons he was engaged on a handsome starter salary of $500,000 a year was for the very reason that he was bringing a very wealthy set of clients.
One can also only conclude that the extraordinarily rapid salary increases that Yak subsequently achieved at BSI and his enormous bonus payments were likewise owing to the immense amount of business his clients, by now not only Low, but Low’s related 1MDB, Aabar and SRC accounts were bringing in too.
His declaration, devised in collaboration with his bosses at the bank, that he did not receive any ‘Gratification’ from these clients as an incentive for handling these accounts would therefore seem to be entirely plausible. After all, Yak was receiving plenty of gratification from his own employers for managing these transactions, so what further incentive did he need?
Don’t make me a scapegoat
Sarawak Report therefore suspects that the reason why Yak Yew Chee has chosen to place all this material in the courts and before the public eye is to attempt to protect himself from being singled out by BSI Bank and the prosecutors as a lone ‘rogue banker’ in this affair.
His misdeeds, if there were misdeeds, in handling suspect transactions by politically connected individuals linked to public funds were known about and ultimately approved by the hierarchies of both BSI and earlier Coutts bank, according to Yak
Certainly, records show that neither Coutts nor BSI initiated proceedings to investigate the multi-million dollar suspicious transactions managed by Yak until the regulators moved. They rewarded Yak handsomely instead.
A new allegation :BSI alleges Arul Kanda, 1 MDB, may have tried to pledge assets already charged to the Deutsche Bank consortium
by Ganesh Sahathevan
The following are extracts from the Sarawak Report investigative news site.
An extract from a letter sent by Swiss bank BSI to its employee, Yak Yew Chee:
An extract of Yak Yew Chee 's response to his employer:
The context,and note references to "November accounts" while the above letter refers to a Notice Of Security received in September 2014:
The following are extracts from the Sarawak Report investigative news site.
An extract from a letter sent by Swiss bank BSI to its employee, Yak Yew Chee:
An extract of Yak Yew Chee 's response to his employer:
The context,and note references to "November accounts" while the above letter refers to a Notice Of Security received in September 2014:
PUBLISHED: 4:17 AM, APRIL 30, 2015
KUALA LUMPUR — A whistleblower website has claimed that debt-ridden state investment vehicle 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) gave false bank statements pertaining to its subsidiary’s accounts to the Singapore branch of BSI Bank.
1MDB CEO Arul Kanda supplied documents to various authorities to show how a sum of US$1.103 billion (S$1.455 billion) has been redeemed in cash from 1MDB subsidiary Brazen Sky’s offshore fund in the Cayman Islands and stored in US currency in BSI.
However, the Swiss private bank subsequently told the Singaporean authorities that the documents, which included November bank accounts of Brazen Sky, did not originate from them and does not represent a true account of the assets of Brazen Sky, revealed the whistleblower website Sarawak Report.
Responding to TODAY’s queries, a Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) spokesperson said that the Singaporean authorities are in touch with their Malaysian counterparts.
“We are committed to assist within the full ambit of our laws. As there are ongoing investigations in Malaysia, it is not appropriate to provide more details,” said the spokesperson.
The spokesperson pointed out that as an international financial centre, Singapore has put in place a robust regime to protect the integrity of its financial system. Financial institutions in Singapore are required to conduct rigorous customer due diligence, regular account reviews, and to monitor for and report any suspicious transactions. In fact, MAS has been engaging the relevant financial institutions in Singapore.
“As a matter of policy, MAS does not comment on its supervisory dealings with specific financial institutions. Due to confidentiality considerations, we are unable to comment on individual banking relationships,” added the spokesperson.
Last month, Prime Minister and Finance Minister Najib Razak, told parliament that the US$1.103 billion has been redeemed from Brazen Sky and deposited in BSI.
The Malaysian Finance Ministry has justified the move as helping to facilitate easier withdrawals since regulations set by the Malaysian central bank mean that the latter’s approval was needed for transactions above RM50 million (S$18.6 million).
Sarawak Report said separate insider information obtained in Singapore had corroborated that there was no actual cash in the relevant Brazan Sky’s account.
Mr Najib last month ordered the Auditor-General and Public Accounts Committee to investigate 1MDB, amid growing demands for explanations over the firm’s allegedly opaque investment decisions and over its amassing a reported RM42 billion debt pile. Mr Najib has been roundly criticised by former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and opposition lawmakers for the alleged failures of 1MDB.
Sarawak Report said it also learnt through separate sources that another major private and corporate customer of BSI Singapore was none other than businessman Low Taek Jho, who is commonly known as Jho Low.
Mr Low has allegedly diverted US$700 million from 1MDB, but declares he is not involved and has been made the fall guy for 1MDB’s failures.
The Sarawak Report also called for a “thorough investigation” by the Singapore authorities on the relationship between Mr Low, BSI and 1MDB.
AGENCIES
Posted 3 weeks ago by Ganesh Sahathevan
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