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”.
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USA prosecutors say fund officials diverted more than 3.5 billion dollars (£2.6 billion) through a web of shell companies and bank accounts in Singapore, Switzerland, Luxembourg and the United States, and the Justice Department has initiated action to seize more than 1 billion U.S. dollars (£750 million) of the cash.
In the statement, the prime minister’s office said it would “fully cooperate with any lawful investigation of Malaysian companies or citizens, in accordance with worldwide protocols, as the prime minister has always maintained, if any wrongdoing is proven, the law will be enforced without exception”, he added.
When asked whether this civil suit would affect Malaysia’s ties with the U.S., he said it was a separate issue altogether, as this was relating to an individual and not the overall position of the two countries’ policies.
These figures include Najib’s stepson Riza Aziz, Jho Low, other officials, and an individual the United States filing calls “Malaysian Official 1” – a thinly-veiled apparent reference to Najib himself.
About $1.3 billon raised through purportedly legitimate bond offerings was swiftly transferred to a Swiss bank account and, from there, distributed to fund officials for their personal benefit.
The White House urged Malaysia on Thursday to demonstrate good governance and a transparent business climate, a day after USA prosecutors sued to try and seize US$1 billion in assets they said were bought with money stolen from a state development fund. The U.S. lawsuit does not directly name him in the case; however, there are several references to an unnamed “Malaysian Official 1”, which the Wall Street Journal reports is a moniker for Najib. The previous largest case in February sought to seize $850 million.
They also are trying to seize proceeds from the 2013 film “The Wolf of Wall Street”.
Money stolen from the fund moved through shell companies and hidden in the United States in purchases of high-end property and luxury items, USA prosecutors said.
Najib was officially cleared of criminality by the Malaysian attorney general earlier this year. But they add that appears unlikely for now as Najib’s crackdown has dramatically strengthened his hold on the party.
Pro-reform group Bersih – made up of 94 civil society bodies – said it is mulling over another street protest to renew calls for Datuk Seri Najib’s resignation.
Separately, Swiss prosecutors said they were helping their U.S. counterparts in the 1MDB case.
“Furthermore, 1MDB has not been contacted by the U.S. DOJ or any other foreign agency in relation to their investigations”.
“Instead, that money went to relatives and associates of the corrupt officials of 1MDB and others”. Tens of millions of dollars diverted from 1MDB were used to produce it, prosecutors said.
According to the complaint, 11 wire transfers totaling $64m were used to fund the studio’s operations.
“The simple answer is we do not have any control over Justice Department actions”, Ben Rhodes, deputy national security adviser, told Reuters on Wednesday during a visit to Myanmar.
Its portfolio has included power plants and other energy assets in Malaysia and the Middle East and real estate in Kuala Lumpur.
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In August past year, tens of thousands of Malaysians took to the streets to demand Najib’s resignation.
