Update | US files lawsuit to seize over US$1 billion in assets allegedly stolen from Malaysia’s 1MDB
Some of the funds used to fund studio operations to produce Leonardo DiCaprio’s “Wolf of Wall Street”; Switzerland and Singapore freeze millions of assets on suspicion of 1MDB-related embezzlement
US federal prosecutors have filed civil lawsuits seeking to seize assets worth more than US$1 billion, allegedly stolen from Malaysian state fund 1MDB, which was overseen by Prime Minister Najib Razak.
None of the US lawsuits name Najib but they contain details that appear to directly implicate the prime minister. They include allegations that $681 million from a 2013 bond sale by 1MDB was transferred to the account of “Malaysian Official 1”, who is described in the lawsuits as “a high-ranking official in the Malaysian government who also held a position of authority with 1MDB.
1MDB and the Malaysian prime minister’s office had no immediate comment.
The fund’s advisory board was headed by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and it is embroiled in multiple global probes related to allegations of money laundering and embezzlement.
Najib was investigated in Malaysia after revelations that $681 million was transferred to his personal bank accounts. Malaysia’s attorney general said in January the prime minister had not committed any crime, and that the money in his bank account was a political donation from the Saudi royal family.