Former PetroSaudi International Ltd (PSI) executive Xavier Andre Justo was sentenced to three years in jail by a Thai court for attempting to blackmail his former employer.

According to several media reports, Justo had pleaded guilty to the charge and was led away in handcuffs.

International media organisations were unable to obtain any comment from Justo's lawyers, who spoke Thai.

Some media reports suggest that Justo was led to the court in handcuffs and ankle restraints.

The entire court proceeding took place behind closed-doors.

Justo's case is of interest regionally because he was alleged to have blackmailed PSI by threatening to divulge confidential company information.

Long-running saga

He is also accused of supplying the said information to Malaysians and whistleblower website Sarawak Report , who in turn used the information to accuse 1MDB of impropriety.

1MDB and PSI entered a controversial joint-venture agreement in 2009. 1MDB invested US$1 billion into the JV vehicle 1MDB-PetroSaudi International, but US$700 million was reportedly channeled to a different company.

Two 1MDB officials reportedly quit because of this.

Critics such as Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua and former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad have been consistently urging 1MDB to explain what happened to the US$1 billion investment.

As of today, 1MDB has maintained that its initial investment has been returned as "fund units" worth US$1.1 billion, held in a Singaporean bank.

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