KUALA LUMPUR, April 26 — Two former executives with Petrosaudi International Ltd (PSI) have been charged in a Swiss court with allegedly misappropriating at least US$1.8 billion (RM8 billion) from the scandal-ridden 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) to finance their lavish lifestyle.
The two who were not named according to Swiss laws, were accused of having used the cover of a joint-venture company with US$2.7 billion in assets to get an additional US$1 billion in financing from 1MDB, news agency Bloomberg reported last night.
They used the proceeds, which were deposited into their Swiss bank accounts, to buy luxury properties in Switzerland and London as well as jewellery and keep up their high living.
According to the news report, the two accused who had been based in the Geneva office of PSI, are suspected to have worked with fugitive financier Low Taek Jho who is on the run from Malaysian and Interpol authorities for his role in the 1MDB scandal that resulted in investigations in six countries.
Citing the Swiss attorney-general, Bloomberg reported that the two ex-Petrosaudi employees were said to have set up fake deals between the governments of Saudi Arabia and Malaysia.
Their charges are for commercial fraud, aggravated criminal mismanagement and aggravated money laundering from 2009 to 2015, the news agency reported.
They will be tried in Switzerland’s federal criminal court, but Bloomberg did not report when the trial would begin.
