Police in China have detained a Shanghai-based private banker at Standard Chartered, in relation to a wealthy client who allegedly stole money from Agricultural Bank of China.
According to the Financial Times, naturalised Singaporean citizen Wu Yidian Eden is in custody, having been asked to cooperate with a police investigation into a Standard Chartered client accused of stealing a “large” sum of money from the state-owned Chinese bank.
The BBC reports that the amount in question was almost $50m.
Wu’s fiancé, who spoke with the FT, said her detention followed a notification to police that she intended to visit Singapore this month for their wedding. Jason Tan told the newspaper that Wu is being held without charge, but is under investigation for allegedly “harbouring a fugitive”.
According to the report, the Standard Chartered client alleged to have stolen the money, an executive from the Jiangyin branch of Agricultural Bank of China, has fled the country.
In relation to Wu’s detention, a Standard Chartered spokesperson told International Adviser: "We are unable to comment on Eden’s detention as this is part of an ongoing investigation by the police but we can confirm that Standard Chartered is not being investigated."
According to Standard Chartered’s website, the company opened its first office in China in 1858 and was the first foreign bank to launch onshore private banking and unsecured personal loans there. Today, it has 82 branches and more than 6,400 employees in the country.