Swiss watchdog reduces confiscation from BSI in 1MDB case

ZURICH: FINMA has lowered to 70 million Swiss francs ($77.27 million)from 95 million the amount of cash it will confiscate from Swiss bank BSI for its involvement in the multi-billion dollar 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) corruption case, the Swiss financial market supervisory authority said on Thursday.

FINMA said it has also concluded all cases against employees involved in the BSI case. It banned two individuals from the banking industry, and issued reprimands to four others.

EFG International bought BSI in 2016 from Brazil’s BTG Pactual after BSI became tangled in legal problems related to the scandal-hit Malaysian sovereign fund 1MDB, which resulted in the closure of BSI’s Singapore branch in 2016. EFG took note of the change, which it said would not affect results.