In a statement, the Department of Justice said officials at 1MDB, their relatives and other associates diverted more than $3.5 billion from the state funds and laundered it through complex transactions and shell companies with bank accounts in Singapore, Switzerland, Luxembourg and the U.S.
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Singapore Police Force, and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), have announced today in a joint statement that the Singapore authorities have been investigating various 1MDB-related fund flows through Singapore, for possible money laundering, securities fraud, cheating, and other offences committed in Singapore.
The money was used to pay for luxury properties in NY and California, a $35 million jet, art by Vincent Van Gogh and Claude Monet and helped finance the Hollywood film, The Wolf of Wall Street, according to the justice department complaints.
Former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has expressed his confidence that “Malaysia Official 1” mentioned in a U.S. court document is Najib Razak.
“Najib supporters placed in key positions across government (including in the Attorney General’s office and the anti-corruption commission) will continue to shield the prime minister from any probe by blocking access to information or evidence that could implicate him”, the note said.
Riza is the co-founder of Red Granite.
Malaysia’s prime minister is facing legal action from the United States relating to allegedly embezzled assets. He said his government will “fully cooperate” with US authorities. It added that the company is confident that “Riza Aziz and Red Granite did nothing wrong”. Authorities say 1MDB’s money was also spent on gambling and used to make the “Wolf of Wall Street”, a film about a high-living swindler starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
It was the first time 1MDB, or 1Malaysia Development Bhd, has been mentioned by the Singapore authorities in official statements about the money laundering investigation.
In Singapore, the central bank said that “supervisory examinations of financial institutions with 1MDB-related fund flows have revealed a complex global web of transactions involving multiple entities and individuals operating in several jurisdictions”.
In a Facebook posting that has set Malaysia’s social media abuzz, Mr Najib’s stepdaughter, Ms Azrene Soraya Abdul Aziz, said if her brother Mr Riza “stood as proxy or as a trustee for what does not belong to him or any individual who asked him to be the “dutiful son”, he needs to pay for it”.
Opposition leaders have taken “Malaysian Official 1” to mean Najib.
The US government wants to seize such assets as luxury properties in NY and California, paintings by Monet and Van Gogh and a Bombardier jet.
Najib’s coalition won big electoral victories in state and parliamentary by-elections last month, as local issues took prominence over the 1MDB scandal. Meanwhile former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said Malaysians should push for a referendum on Najib’s leadership as he launched a new opposition front made up of ruling party rebels and members of the opposition.
About 1.3 billion dollars (£980 million) raised through purportedly legitimate bond offerings was swiftly transferred to a Swiss bank account and then distributed to fund officials for their personal benefit. He said the government must open up investigations into the fund and uncover the identity of the Malaysian senior official behind the money laundering.
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According to The Hollywood Reporter, 17 payments totaling $US3.9 million ($5.22 million) are described as going to Scorsese’s company Sikelia Productions.
