Andre Xavier Justo, involved in the exposure of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal, would opt to serve his remaining one-year sentence in Switzerland, sources close to the transfer deal told the Bangkok Post.
The Criminal Court in Bangkok sentenced Swiss national Justo to three years in jail on June 22 last year for attempting to blackmail his former employer PetroSaudi International. "He has now served over one year and has been categorised a good prisoner, so is eligible for a one-third reduction," said Justo's lawyer Worasit Piriyawiboon, adding he has just 10 months left of the term to serve.
Justo was reportedly one of thousands of prisoners eligible for parole granted to mark 70 years since His Majesty the King's accession to the throne, and the 84th birthday of Her Majesty the Queen. "If paroled, he has to stay in Thailand and report to authorities every month until June next year," the lawyer said.
Justo could, however, choose to serve the rest of his sentence in his own country if the government requested his transfer, he said.
Viktor Vavricka, charge d'affaires at the Embassy of Switzerland in Thailand, said Justo is getting embassy help. He declined further comment, citing privacy concerns. The Swiss authorities confirmed a request for Justo's transfer to Switzerland has been submitted under the bilateral agreement between Thailand and Switzerland on the transfer of prisoners.
Charnchao Chainukit, permanent secretary of justice, told the Bangkok Post that state agencies had 120 days to process the matter. "Generally, corrections officials in each province will submit a list of those entitled for parole to the court, which will determine how much the sentence can be reduced or whether the prisoners can be released," said Mr Charnchao.
After court approval, foreign prisoners whose cases come under the Transfer of Prisoners Treaty are signed off for the transfer for the transfer by an inter-agency committee chaired by the permanent secretary of justice, he said. However, those involved in the process said Justo could be released as soon as next month thanks to "political will from all sides".
Justo is also wanted by the US Department of Justice which was seeking the recovery of more than US$1 billion defrauded from Malaysia -- its largest ever asset seizure case.
Justo's transfer would not benefit US efforts to unwind the international fraud, sources said.
The Swiss banker allegedly stole information from his employer, Swiss-based PetroSaudi, and tried to sell it to media organisations which led to the breaking of the 1MDB scandal. He is accused of copying every company email stored on the server before demanding the company pay him US$2.5million. When PetroSaudi turned down his demand, he approached another group to sell the data.
The "buyers" included Malaysian news group The Edge and newsblog Sarawak Report, and the data he sold eventually led to news reports into the alleged theft of funds from 1MDB.