Ex-BSI banker Yeo takes the stand on 8th day of trial, claims he was just taking instructions

SINGAPORE (Nov 10): Yeo Jiawei, the former wealth planner at BSI, who is said to be among the individuals behind a complex web of corporate entities used to divert funds from 1Malaysia Development Bhd, made himself out to be little more than a junior employee at the Swiss private bank when he took the stand for the first time on Thursday.

He also claimed that it was he who had flagged the risks to senior BSI staffers of a 1MDB entity using a fund structure to channel money to Eric Tan Kim Loong, who is said to be an associate of Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low. Yeo, who will turn 34 on Nov 21, is on trial for four counts of witness tampering.

By the time he took the stand on the eighth day of the trial, the court had already heard from nine witnesses for the prosecution. Responding to questions from his lawyer Philip Fong, Yeo told the court that he was a member of a small team within BSI supporting front-line bankers such as Yak Yew Chee, who dealt directly with Low.

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