The US government filed a series of lawsuits on Wednesday to seize assets that it said were the result of $3.5bn (£2.7bn, €3.2bn) that was misappropriated from 1MDB, a fund set up by prime minister Najib Razak in 2009 to boost the Malaysian economy.
Advertisement
The comments came in the wake of the US Department of Justice revelation in Los Angeles on Wednesday that it has initiated action to seize about $1.3 billion (about RM5.2 billion) of the missing $3.5 billion (about RM14 billion) allegedly used to buy assets in the US by people close to Najib.
Federal officials said more than $1bn was laundered into the USA for the personal benefit of 1MDB officials and their associates.
The 1Malaysia Development Fund was created in 2009 by Najib shortly after he took office to promote economic development projects.
This follows ongoing investigations of various 1MDB-related fund flows through Singapore for possible money laundering, securities fraud, cheating, and other offences committed here.
In Malaysia, the hashtag #MalaysianOfficial1 was trending on Thursday.
“The Department of Justice will not allow the American financial system to be used as a conduit for corruption”, US Attorney General Loretta Lynch said.
U.S. officials allege $1bn siphoned from Malaysia state fund and used as “personal bank account” to buy luxury assets.
The targeted United States assets also include royalties from the 2013 financial crime caper The Wolf of Wall Street starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
Among them is Riza Shahriz Bin Abdul Aziz, who co-founded Red Granite Pictures, a movie production studio whose films include “The Wolf of Wall Street”.
Both Najib and 1MDB vehemently deny wrongdoing.
In August past year, tens of thousands of Malaysians took to the streets to demand Najib’s resignation.
“We have to establish facts first”.
The Straits Times wrote that while Najib’s grip on power was not in any serious trouble, the tarring of his political reputation could have repercussions for him personally. He added that the government would give its full cooperation to worldwide investigations of the 1MDB case.
To cover up these crimes, Malaysia’s institutions have been twisted and perverted to suit the whims of Najib and those benefiting from the misuse of the rakyat’s money.
The Justice Department says the assets it is seeking to recover are associated with “an global conspiracy to launder funds misappropriated” from 1MDB. The US had asked Swiss authorities for help in May.
Washington views the moderate Muslim nation as a partner in its fight against radical Islamists, as a member of a USA -led Pacific trade group and as part of the US strategic “pivot” to Asia to counter China’s rising ambitions.
While the Justice Department complaint is an allegation, not evidence, it outlines in 136 pages of blow-by-blow detail how huge sums were diverted from the government fund, routed through bank accounts in various countries and then spent on high-end real estate, artwork, gambling and various luxury goods by Mr Najib’s stepson, friends and associates.
At home, former premier Mahathir Mohamad led a chorus of opposition voices calling on Najib to step down.
Mr Najib heads the fund’s advisory board, which was dissolved two months ago.
“Malaysia highly values its bilateral relations with the United States and calls on the U.S. to recognize the various steps taken by the Government of Malaysia to address the 1MDB issue”, the ministry said in a statement on Thursday night.
“The case in theory has been closed since October when the attorney general here in Malaysia said that there was no wrongdoing, and ordered the Malaysian anti-corruption commission to close the case”.
“Whatever current issues, they (the opposition) will take advantage to politicise”, he said, adding that it was “their job”.
The money was allegedly laundered through “complex transactions and fraudulent shell companies” with bank accounts located in Singapore, Switzerland, Luxembourg and the U.S. This is a civil action, this not a criminal action.
Advertisement
The worth of assets seized by Singapore authorities believed to be linked to 1MDB.
