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.
The US Department of Justice said $681 million from a 2013 bond sale by sovereign wealth fund 1MDB was transferred to the account of “Malaysian Official 1.” He is described in court papers as “a high-ranking official in the Malaysian government who also held a position of authority with 1MDB.”
A source familiar with the investigation confirmed that “Malaysian Official 1” is Najib.
The investigation is the largest set of cases brought by the US Department of Justice’s Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative, which seeks the forfeiture of the proceeds of foreign corruption. The previous largest case in February sought to seize $850 million.
1MDB, which Najib founded in 2009 shortly after he came to office, is being investigated for money laundering in at least six countries, including the United States, Singapore and Switzerland.
