Ex-Citibank Private Bankers Charged in Singapore

Christopher Owen

25 January 2008

The Singapore government has charged seven former Citibank employees with breaking client confidentiality laws for allegedly taking information on private bank clients from Citibank when they joined UBS in 2006. The case reflects the fierce competition among private banks to recruit staff. It also demonstrates Singapore's determination to uphold its tough bank secrecy rules. The seven bankers face a total of 1,223 charges under the city state’s computer misuse act and bank secrecy law for accessing Citibank’s computers without authority and downloading or printing out client information. They face up to 20 years in jail and fines of up to S$125,000. The charges were filed after a year-long investigation by the Singapore police’s commercial affairs division pursuant to Citibank's civil action against six of the former employees in 2006. That case was settled out of court last year with the payment of undisclosed damages, but Citibank also filed a complaint with both the police and the regulator, the Monetary Authority of Singapore. In its civil suit, Citibank alleged that some of the bankers had taken S$50 million ($35 million) worth of business to UBS by persuading clients to switch accounts. Only three of the seven are still employed at UBS and have been suspended pending the outcome of the case. It is the first time that the Singapore authorities have used the computer misuse act and banking laws to prosecute the disclosure of bank customer information.