Government audit criticises Malaysia's state fund 1MDB for not cooperating with probe

An interim report by the Malaysian government into debt-laden state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) found nothing suspicious after vetting its accounts, a parliamentary committee said on Thursday.

The bi-partisan Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said the report by the auditor-general revealed nothing out of the ordinary but criticised 1MDB for failing to fully cooperate.

"There is nothing suspicious in the interim report," said Nur Jazlan Mohamed, head of the PAC, a group tasked to examine government accounts. "1MDB is not fully cooperating with the auditor-general," Jazlan said.

1MDB, with debts of more than US$11 billion, is being probed by authorities for financial mismanagement and graft. The state-owned firm's advisory board is chaired by Prime Minister Najib Razak.

The state fund said it had submitted all documents in its possession to the national auditor, and that it would seek clarity on PAC's comments that some documents were not submitted.

Last week the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that investigators looking into 1MDB had traced close to US$700 million of deposits into personal bank accounts belonging to Najib, according to documents from the probe.