Singaporean ex-remisier Kelvin Ang gets S$9k fine in case related to 1MDB probe

Kelvin Ang Wee Keng pleaded guilty to one count of corruption after being charged last year following an 1MDB investigation. PHOTO: REUTERS

SINGAPORE - Kelvin Ang Wee Keng, the second Singaporean charged in April last year following an ongoing probe into 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), was slapped with a fine of S$9,000 on Wednesday after he pleaded guilty to one count of corruption.

During sentencing, district judge Lim Keng Yeow also took into account the three weeks' remand already served by Ang last year.

Ang, a former remisier at Maybank Kim Eng Securities, was charged with corruptly giving a gratification sum of S$3,000 some time between 2013 and 2014 to research analyst Lee Chee Waiy to expedite preparation of a favourable valuation report to be issued by his equity research firm.

It was reported that Mr Lee had held the position of associate director at NRA Capital between August 2008 and October 2015. Ang, 35, was released from remand in May last year on bail of S$100,000.

Prosecutors had earlier told the court that Ang had dealt extensively for over two years with former BSI Singapore banker Yeo Jiawei, who is a "central figure in the investigations" and several others implicated in "improper dealings".

Yeo was the first Singaporean charged in the 1MDB investigation and was handed a 30-month jail term for attempting to pervert the course of justice. He has appealed against his conviction and sentence, and faces a separate trial on money-laundering charges, which are set to be heard in court later this year.

Others that have been sentenced include two other ex-BSI bankers, Yak Yew Chee and Yvonne Seah Yew Foong. They were sentenced to jail terms of 18 weeks and two weeks, respectively, for forging documents and failing to disclose suspicious transactions allegedly related to Low. Both were also fined.

Jens Sturzenegger was the first foreigner to be charged in Singapore's ongoing high-profile money laundering probe into the tainted funds.

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