Singapore slaps 10-year ban on ex-Goldman Sachs banker Tim Leissner

PETALING JAYA: The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has issued a 10-year prohibition order (PO) against former Goldman Sachs (Singapore) director Tim Leissner over 1Malaysia Development Bhd-related (1MDB) breaches.
In a statement yesterday, MAS said the PO, which came into effect yesterday, was made after careful consideration of the representations made by Leissner and the relevant facts.
Leissner will be banned from performing any regulated activity under the Securities and Futures Act and taking part, directly or indirectly, in the management of any capital market services firm in Singapore.
The action was due to Leissner’s involvement in June 2015 in the issuance of an unauthorised letter to a financial institution based in Luxembourg, and to have made false statements on behalf of Goldman Sachs (Asia) LLC, without the firm’s knowledge.
Three other individuals who were investigated by the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) on 1MDB-related matters and consequently convicted by the courts in Singapore, are also facing similar bans. The three are former branch manager of Falcon Private Bank Ltd, Singapore branch (Falcon Bank) Jens Fred Sturzenegger, and former employees of BSI Bank Ltd, Yak Yew Chee and Yvonne Seah Yew Foong.
“Given  the gravity of their misconduct, MAS intends to issue lifetime POs against Sturzenegger and Yak, and a 15-year PO against Ms Seah,” the regulator said.
Recall that on Jan 11, 2017, Sturzenegger was convicted on several charges, including furnishing false information to MAS and CAD to cover up his relationship with Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low, as well as his knowledge of Low’s involvement in the bank accounts maintained by Falcon Bank.
In addition, Yak was convicted on charges of forging reference letters to entities based in Switzerland, using the letterhead of BSI Bank.
Seah was convicted for intentionally aiding Yak to forge reference letters, which were issued to misrepresent Low’s net worth or conceal the source of Low’s fund transfers. Both Yak and Seah also failed to report the suspicious movement of funds by Low.
MAS deputy managing director (financial supervision) Ong Chong Tee stressed that MAS will not tolerate conduct by any finance professional that threatens to undermine trust and confidence in Singapore’s financial system.
“MAS will not hesitate to bar such individuals from carrying out regulated activities in the financial industry. It is imperative that industry professionals and representatives of financial institutions are fit and proper persons. They must be worthy of the trust that people place in them and their institutions,” he noted.