Zurich-based Falcon Private Bank made fraudulent 1MDB transfers including to Malaysia's then-premier's bank account
Falcon Private Bank, a Zurich-based wealth manager implicated in the transfer of alleged illicit funds into the personal bank account of Malaysia’s then-premier Najib Razak, is in advanced negotiations to sell-off its assets and cease operations, capping off a four year struggle with Swiss and other financial regulators.
The bank’s demise follows a string of consecutive annual losses accrued since 2016, when the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) found that it violated money-laundering regulations in its dealings with the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) state fund by failing to carry out adequate compliance checks.
Aided by the US Department of Justice (DoJ), Swiss authorities determined that Falcon had approved dozens of fraudulent transfers, including one wherein US$681 million was transferred from an account at the bank’s Singapore branch into Najib’s personal AmBank account in March 2013.
Singapore later revoked Falcon’s banking license and jailed its branch manager for failing to comply with anti-money laundering rules. The bank weathered regulatory sanctions and attempted to reinvent itself as a cryptocurrency asset manager following the scandal with financial backing from shareholder Aabar, the financial investment arm of Abu Dhabi state fund Mubadala Investment Company.
Falcon Private Bank, a Zurich-based wealth manager implicated in the transfer of alleged illicit funds into the personal bank account of Malaysia’s then-premier Najib Razak, is in advanced negotiations to sell-off its assets and cease operations, capping off a four year struggle with Swiss and other financial regulators.
The bank’s demise follows a string of consecutive annual losses accrued since 2016, when the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) found that it violated money-laundering regulations in its dealings with the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) state fund by failing to carry out adequate compliance checks.
Aided by the US Department of Justice (DoJ), Swiss authorities determined that Falcon had approved dozens of fraudulent transfers, including one wherein US$681 million was transferred from an account at the bank’s Singapore branch into Najib’s personal AmBank account in March 2013.
Singapore later revoked Falcon’s banking license and jailed its branch manager for failing to comply with anti-money laundering rules. The bank weathered regulatory sanctions and attempted to reinvent itself as a cryptocurrency asset manager following the scandal with financial backing from shareholder Aabar, the financial investment arm of Abu Dhabi state fund Mubadala Investment Company.
Read the full story at Asia Times.
Nile Bowie is a journalist and correspondent with the Asia Times covering current affairs in Singapore and Malaysia. He can be reached at nilebowie@gmail.com.
