"Major linchpin's" name appears in Singapore's investigation of 1MDB saga

The name of a senior private banker with BSI Singapore, Yak Yew Chee, has emerged in the ongoing joint-investigations by Singapore’s Commercial Affairs Department and Monetary Authority of Singapore, into bank accounts related to alleged financial irregularities at Malaysian state investor 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
The Straits Times reported today that a “check with the High Court shows that a criminal motion will be heard this Friday at 10am”.
Mr Yak is reportedly applying for the release of some of his bank accounts for the payment of taxes, legal fees and basic expenses.
The banker was the relationship manager for 1MDB Global Investments Ltd, Aabar Investment PJS Limited, SRC International Sdn Bhd and Low Taek Jho.
Sarawak Report, the publication which first revealed detailed information about the 1MDB saga describes Mr Yak as “a major linchpin among the main players in the 1MDB money scandal”.
Mr Yak allegedly played a pivotal role in organising transfers between several parties. The publication named Jho Low, diamond traders and the Malaysian Prime Minister’s wife, Rosmah Mansor, as being involved in these transactions.
“At that time he was working for RBS Coutts’ Singapore office, according to emails. Coutts was the bank into which Jho Low first transferred the money siphoned out of 1MDB from the bogus PetroSaudi joint venture in 2009. Much of that money was then transferred on to BSI in Singapore between 2011-13 and it seems that Low’s relationship manager also transferred to that bank along with it.” – Sarawk Report
Sarawak Report also released an email saying traders have confirmed to the publication that they were in settlement of purchases by Rosmah, obtained between Jho Low and Mr Yak back in the period the banker was working for Coutts in which payments were organised for jewellery payments.