A Vietnamese woman will continue her trial for the murder of Kim Jong-nam, the half-brother of North Korea’s leader, after Malaysian prosecutors rejected a request from Vietnam to free her on Thursday.The Vietnamese government had made the call after 30-year-old Doan Thi Huong’s co-accused, Indonesian woman Siti Aisyah, was released on Monday.Huong and Indonesian national Siti Aisyah were charged with killing Kim by smearing his face with VX poison, a banned chemical weapon, at Kuala Lumpur…
Malaysia shuts 111 schools after hundreds of children are poisoned by hazardous fumes emitted by toxic waste dumped in river
More than 100 schools in Malaysia have been closed a week after toxic waste was dumped into a nearby river, causing hundreds of people including scores of schoolchildren to fall ill, authorities said.A truck is believed to have dumped the waste in the south of Johor state last week, sending hazardous fumes across a wide area and causing those affected to display symptoms of poisoning such as nausea and vomiting.Some 500 people, many of them school pupils, have received medical treatment after…
The EBA’s new approach to outsourcing and access and audit rights
In its final EBA Guidelines on Outsourcing the EBA revised its previous position on when a financial institution must ensure that it has the right to access its data and the business premises of an outsourcing provider for auditing purposes.
Ex-Goldman bankers Tim Leissner, Roger Ng banned from industry by US Federal Reserve
Former Goldman Sachs bankers Tim Leissner and Roger Ng were banned from the industry by the United States Federal Reserve for their role in helping to divert billions of dollars from Malaysian state investment fund 1MDB.Leissner and Ng coordinated bond offerings that allowed funds to be stolen from 1MDB, the regulator said on Tuesday. Some of the diverted money was used to bribe government officials in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi, and criminals also used proceeds to pay for lavish lifestyles,…
Chaos, jubilation and chants of ‘Kim Jong-nam’ as Indonesian villagers welcome home Siti Aisyah, ex-suspect in killing of North Korean leader’s half brother
A chaotic crush of jubilant villagers and reporters greeted the young Indonesian woman who was freed after Malaysia dropped charges that she murdered the estranged half brother of North Korea’s leader in an airport two years ago.Mosque loudspeakers blared as police guarding Siti Aisyah pushed their way through a mob to the house of a local parliamentarian in the Javanese village of Rancasumur where she grew up. A police official said Aisyah was exhausted and had fainted.Earlier Tuesday she met…
UAE authorities introduce passporting regime for investment funds
Financial regulators in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have formally introduced new investment fund passporting protocols across the country.
As Thailand’s young look to the future, does Thaksin Shinawatra still matter?
One man has dominated Thai politics for well over twenty years; and it is not the current monarch, King Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun. Separately, the hapless, but essentially well-meaning military leader Prayuth Chan-ocha looks set to be a mere footnote in the kingdom’s contemporary history.Loathed by the elite, Thaksin Shinawatra, the brash Chiang Mai-born, telecom billionaire-turned-politician (and prime minister from 2001 to 2006) remains a Svengali-like presence despite being…
Philippine news website Rappler loses court appeal on foreign media ownership violation
A Philippine court has upheld a decision that a news site critical of President Rodrigo Duterte violated a constitutional ban on foreign ownership of news media.In a decision made public on Monday, the Court of Appeals said that Rappler effectively allowed US-based investor Omidyar Network “to participate” in its corporate actions and decisions in violation of the constitution, which requires media companies to be fully owned and managed by Filipinos.Rappler argued it did not grant Omidyar the…
UK appeal court overturns payment bank ‘trust’ finding
International money transfers between bank accounts, executed by a clearing system or correspondent bank, will not give rise to a trust relationship in favour of the customer who gave the transfer instruction, the Court of Appeal has confirmed.
Kim Jong-nam murder trial: Indonesian suspect Siti Aisyah freed after Malaysian prosecutors drop murder charge
An Indonesian woman held two years on suspicion of killing Kim Jong-nam, the half-brother of North Korea’s leader, was freed from custody on Monday after prosecutors unexpectedly dropped the murder charge against her.The High Court judge discharged Siti Aisyah without an acquittal after prosecutors said they wanted to withdraw the charge. They did not give a reason.Siti Aisyah cried and hugged her co-defendant, Doan Thi Huong from Vietnam, before leaving the courtroom.She was quickly ushered…