19-4-2024 (GENEVA) Lawyers representing two individuals accused of embezzling US$1.8 billion from the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1MDB commenced their case on Thursday (Apr 18) following Swiss state prosecutors’ pursuit of substantial prison sentences.
Tarek Obaid, the chief executive of PetroSaudi, and Patrick Mahony, a director at the Saudi oil exploration and production company, are currently standing trial at Switzerland’s Federal Criminal Court in the southern city of Bellinzona.
The charges against them stem from their alleged involvement in a wide-ranging embezzlement scheme orchestrated by Jho Low, an advisor to former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.
During proceedings on Wednesday, prosecutor Alice de Chambrier described the embezzlement as the “scam of the century,” considering the immense sums involved in comparison to Malaysia’s GDP. She labelled the defendants as “calculative, manipulative, and obscenely greedy,” as reported by the Keystone-ATS news agency. De Chambrier sought a 10-year prison term for Obaid and a nine-year term for Mahony. Additionally, prosecutors requested the detention of both individuals due to the perceived risk of flight during the trial period.
Obaid, a Swiss-Saudi dual national, and Mahony, who holds Swiss-British citizenship, faced scrutiny from Obaid’s lawyer, Daniel Zappelli, who highlighted discrepancies in the amounts allegedly laundered and the absence of Najib and Low from the trial, according to Keystone-ATS.
The 1MDB financial scandal, which involved allegations of billions of dollars being siphoned from the fund for personal use, has triggered criminal investigations worldwide, including in the United States, Switzerland, and Singapore.
Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was convicted in 2022 and sentenced to 12 years in jail for offences related to the misappropriation of public funds. However, his sentence was later reduced to six years in February.
The fallout from the 1MDB scandal resulted in the collapse of Najib’s government in 2018.
During Wednesday’s trial proceedings, the prosecution called for the confiscation of assets seized by Switzerland and their return to 1MDB. Chambrier accused Obaid and Mahony of lavishly spending their ill-gotten gains on precious stones, private jets, rented yachts, and properties in London and Geneva.
The trial, overseen by three judges, commenced on Apr 2 and is scheduled to conclude by the end of the month, with the verdict expected to follow in the ensuing months.
