Yeo Jiawei trial: Middleman doesn’t fly in private jets, court told

SINGAPORE: A mere messenger or intermediary does not fly in private jets or stay in top-class luxury hotels, the court hearing the case against former BSI banker Yeo Jiawei was told today.

Amicorp relationship manager Jose Renato Carvalho Pinto said this when Yeo’s lawyer Philip Fong argued that Yeo was merely an “intermediary” and “messenger” for Malaysian tycoon Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low, and his close business associates.

Fong was cross-examining Carvalho on day six of the trial of Yeo, who faces four counts of obstructing justice by allegedly urging witnesses to lie to police and destroy evidence after being arrested on March 17 in connection with 1MDB-related money laundering, the Straits Times reported.

Carvalho on Monday had testified that Yeo had become arrogant after becoming a “consultant and adviser” to Low and Mohamed Ahmed Badawy Al-Husseiny, a former high-level official of Abu Dhabi state fund International Petroleum Investment Co.

Fong said Yeo, on behalf of Swiss bank BSI in Singapore, had contacted Carvalho for the first time in 2011 to set up a fund structure for his client, a sovereign wealth fund in Malaysia.

“After he left BSI, Yeo was relaying instructions to Amicorp on behalf of his client, Aabar, and Al-Husseiny, then CEO of Aabar Abu Dhabi,” Fong said. “Amicorp ascertained source of instructions was ultimately from Al Husseiny? And Amicorp verified that to be the case?”

Carvalho agreed.

When Fong suggested that Yeo was just an intermediary and messenger, Carvalho replied: “A messenger doesn’t fly private jets, …. or stay in (Emirates) Palace Hotel. He wasn’t just a DHL messenger.”

Emirates Palace is a five star luxury hotel in Abu Dhabi, which Carvalho said on Monday, Yeo had name-dropped when “talking big about spending nights in expensive hotels,” according to the ST report.

Fong, however, said Yeo had not been given any power of attorney, and had no authority to make decisions on behalf of his client, the ST report added.

As an example, Fong said when Yeo processed payment of USD1.36 million for the 27 tickets to the Manny Pacquiao boxing match at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, he was merely doing so on the instructions of Low’s close business associate Eric Tan Kim Loong.

The ST report said Fong also disputed Carvalho’s testimony about Yeo’s jet-setting lifestyle after he left BSI, saying Carvalho was envious of Yeo because he appeared to be doing better and had more contacts than Carvalho.

Fong also disputed Carvalho’s testimony that Yeo was always “talking big about flying private jets”, saying he did so less than three times and it was for work purposes only.

Carvalho disagreed, saying Yeo had flown 15 times on a private jet to meet Low and Al Husseiny, according to the ST report.

Fong also disputed Carvalho’s testimony that Yeo had told him to destroy his laptop. Neither did he instruct Aloysius Enci Mun, his colleague, to lie to the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) if questioned.

Carvalho denied a suggestion by Fong that he had made these statements to the CAD to “ensure he would not be implicated in dealings with Jho Low, Al- Husseiny and Eric Tan” –  FMT

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