Malaysia to cooperate with 'lawful investigations' after US files 1MDB suit

Malaysia will cooperate fully with any lawful investigation of its companies or citizens, Prime Minister Najib Razak’s spokesman said on Thursday after the US Justice Department filed lawsuits linked to scandal-ridden state fund 1MDB.

US prosecutors sued on Wednesday to seize more than $1 billion in assets they said were tied to an international scheme to launder money stolen from the Malaysian state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad.

“As the Prime Minister has always maintained, if any wrongdoing is proven, the law will be enforced without exception,” Najib’s spokesman Tengku Sariffuddin said in a statement.

In a separate statement, 1MDB said it was not a party to the civil suit, did not have any assets in the United States and had not benefited from the transactions described in the civil suit.

Civil lawsuits filed in federal court did not name Malaysian premier Najib Razak, referring instead to “Malaysian Official 1.” Some of the allegations against this official are the same as those in a Malaysian investigation over a $681 million transfer to his personal bank account.