In the course of the 1MDB scandal the Singapore authorities are investigating BSI’s former head of Asia, Hanspeter Brunner. That has obviously not prevented the banker, formerly treated as a star in the region, from taking legal action against his former employer.

The «Business Times» newspaper has reported that Brunner accuses the Ticino-headquartered private bank of not paying him a deferred bonus. The dispute about the frozen bonus comes after Brunner resigned unexpectedly last March.

Criminal investigations under way

The move by the former top banker is astounding, to put it mildly. Since Brunner’s departure, events have been unfolding rapidly at BSI. Last May the Swiss financial supervisor, Finma, and the Singapore supervisory authority MAS put a stop to the bank’s activities, as reported by finews.ch.

The authorities saw clear evidence that BSI was involved in massive breaches of money laundering in connection with Malaysian state fund 1MDB. The breaches allegedly took place during Brunner’s leadership in Asia. Singapore is pursuing criminal investigations against Brunner and other BSI bankers.