Second Executive to Appeal Conviction in 1MDB Fraud Case, Reports Reuters

ZURICH (Reuters) – A second executive who was convicted in Switzerland for his role in a $1.8 billion fraud involving the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1MDB plans to appeal the ruling, as stated by his lawyers.

Patrick Mahony, a Swiss-British national, received a six-year sentence from the Federal Criminal Court on Wednesday. He was found guilty of fraud, criminal mismanagement, and money laundering.

This verdict is part of the ongoing 1MDB scandal, a complex saga of international corruption that has implicated numerous financial institutions and individuals globally since allegations first arose in 2015.

Mahony was convicted alongside Tarek Obaid, a Swiss-Saudi national, who was given a seven-year prison term. Obaid’s legal team has also expressed intentions to appeal the decision.

Mahony’s lawyers described the judgment as “shocking” and confirmed their plans to contest the court’s ruling.

“The judgment accuses our client of actions taken by various Malaysian individuals without ever evaluating what our client could have possibly known,” said Laurent Baeriswyl, Mahony’s lawyer.

“We clearly demonstrated during the trial that none of the conditions of the crimes were met, and we are confident that the appellate court will consider the overwhelming evidence that exonerates our client.”