The Justice Department said on Wednesday that the assets were “associated with an global conspiracy to launder funds misappropriated” from 1MDB, and included lavish real estate in Beverly Hills and NY, artwork by Monet and Van Gogh, and a business jet.
Advertisement
The complaint alleges that more than US$730 million of what seemed to be 1MDB money was ultimately routed to the personal bank account of “Malaysian Official 1”, a thinly veiled reference to Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.
Wan Azizah – who is the wife of opposition defacto leader Anwar Ibrahim who is now imprisoned on sodomy charges – pointed out that the press conference clearly mentioned that this RM4 billion is part of over RM14 billion (US$3.5 billion) which has been identified as being embezzled from 1MDB between 2009 and 2015.
The complaints identify by name multiple Malaysian nationals that the government alleges profited from the scheme.
On Wednesday the Office of the Swiss Attorney General confirmed that it was cooperating with the United States Department of Justice (DoJ).
Najib has consistently denied allegations of wrongdoing. Also present are Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Razali Ibrahim (second left) and Felda chairman Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad (second right). He said it was in line with good governance which the government had always advocated.
Communications Minister Salleh Said Keruak said 1MDB has been the subject of an “unprecedented politically motivated attack” aimed at unseating the premier. His spokesman said the government would “fully co-operate with any lawful investigation of Malaysian companies or citizens”.
“The operation is not over yet so we will not comment at the moment on the location of the paintings”, she said.
“To date there has been no evidence from any investigation conducted by any law enforcement agencies in various jurisdictions which shows that money has been misappropriated from 1MDB”, Mohamed Apandi Ali said in a statement.
USA authorities on Wednesday said it were moving to seize more than $1 billion assets related to the fund which would make up only a proportion of the more than $3.5 billion allegedly diverted.
The U.S. lawsuits seek to seize assets “involved in and traceable to an worldwide conspiracy to launder money misappropriated from 1MDB”.
Pilfered funds were notably spent on fine art and high-end USA real estate, and Najib’s stepson also invested more than $100 million to finance the 2013 Hollywood financial crime caper “The Wolf of Wall Street”, according to the Justice Department.
The funds were also allegedly used to invest in EMI Music and to fund the production of 2013 Hollywood movie The Wolf of Wall Street, whose co-producer Riza Aziz is a stepson of Razak.
In a statement, Red Granite said that to its knowledge, “none of the funding it received four years ago was in any way illegitimate”.
The Singapore announcement thickens the plot of the long-running scandal over billions of dollars missing from the Malaysia state fund 1MDB, coming a day after USA authorities moved to seize assets tied to the beleaguered fund, including funds related to the film “The Wolf of Wall Street”.
Advertisement
1MDB said in a statement that it was not a party to the lawsuit, did not have any assets in the United States, “nor has it benefited from the various transactions described”.
