https://www.scmp.com/rss/522326/feed 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB): A Malaysia-based sovereign wealth fund, 1MDB was established by the Malaysian government to drive strategic initiatives for the country’s long-term economic development. Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, its primary focus areas included energy, real estate, tourism, and agribusiness, aiming to attract foreign investment and fund infrastructure projects. However, 1MDB gained international notoriety for a massive corruption scandal involving the alleged... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com The Star The Star Malaysian police will investigate claims that fugitive financier Jho Low returned to the country for secret meetings. Inspector-General of Police Mohd Khalid Ismail said the claims that Low, whose full name is Low Taek Jho, had come to Malaysia for meetings had not been verified. “We have not verified whether the claims are true or otherwise,” he told reporters on Saturday. “We will take appropriate action to investigate the matter further.” He was commenting on an article by Sarawak Report... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3353795/malaysian-police-probe-claims-jho-low-returned-kuala-lumpur-secret-1mdb-talks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3353795/malaysian-police-probe-claims-jho-low-returned-kuala-lumpur-secret-1mdb-talks?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 16 May 2026 04:31:24 +0000 The Star The Star Malaysia will not support any pardon for fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low, says Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who described the matter as a “non-issue” for Putrajaya. The prime minister said any decision on a possible pardon application rested entirely with US authorities and was not something Malaysia intended to pursue. “There is no issue. We are not going to consider that. No issue,” he told reporters in Negri Sembilan yesterday when asked about reports surrounding... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3353663/1mdb-scandal-anwar-says-malaysia-wont-oppose-jho-lows-trump-pardon-bid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3353663/1mdb-scandal-anwar-says-malaysia-wont-oppose-jho-lows-trump-pardon-bid?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 May 2026 06:10:05 +0000 Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof Fugitive financier Jho Low’s request for a pardon from US President Donald Trump has reopened a central question left by Malaysia’s 1MDB scandal: whether the man alleged to have helped orchestrate one of the world’s biggest financial frauds will ever face trial. Analysts say the request appears unlikely to succeed because Low has never appeared in a US court, stood trial or accepted responsibility – and a pardon cannot erase charges he faces in Malaysia and Singapore. But the attempt has still... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3353531/how-low-can-jho-go-chances-trump-pardon-malaysian-1mdb-scandal-below-5?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3353531/how-low-can-jho-go-chances-trump-pardon-malaysian-1mdb-scandal-below-5?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 May 2026 07:05:27 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg Jho Low, the fugitive Malaysian financier accused by the United States of being the mastermind of one of the largest financial frauds in history, has asked US President Donald Trump for a pardon. Low, who was charged in 2018 but has evaded arrest, submitted a pardon application to the US Justice Department this year, according to a notice on its website. He is accused of being the architect of a scheme that siphoned at least US$4.5 billion from Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund, 1Malaysia... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3353340/malaysias-jho-low-seeking-trump-pardon-1mdb-fraud?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3353340/malaysias-jho-low-seeking-trump-pardon-1mdb-fraud?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 May 2026 23:38:02 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak has dropped his legal bid to serve the remainder of his corruption sentence under house arrest, closing off a closely watched appeal tied to his 2024 royal pardon. Najib, 72, is serving a six-year jail sentence in Kajang Prison after his original 12-year term for the misappropriation of 42 million ringgit (US$10.6 million) from SRC International was halved by the Pardons Board in 2024. SRC International was formerly a unit of 1MDB, the state fund at... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3351542/malaysias-najib-drops-appeal-serve-1mdb-linked-prison-sentence-under-house-arrest?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3351542/malaysias-najib-drops-appeal-serve-1mdb-linked-prison-sentence-under-house-arrest?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Apr 2026 07:30:29 +0000 Reuters Reuters A Malaysian court on Tuesday ⁠ordered jailed former ⁠prime minister Najib Razak ⁠to pay US$1.3 billion to a former unit of scandal-tainted state fund 1MDB, state media reported. The Kuala Lumpur High Court ruled that Najib was liable for losses incurred by ‌SRC International, a former subsidiary of sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad, state news agency Bernama reported. High Court judge Ahmad Fairuz Zainol Abidin ruled that Najib breached his fiduciary duties, abused his position... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3348554/malaysia-court-orders-ex-pm-najib-pay-us13-billion-1mdb-unit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3348554/malaysia-court-orders-ex-pm-najib-pay-us13-billion-1mdb-unit?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 31 Mar 2026 10:20:34 +0000 Joseph Sipalan Joseph Sipalan The president of Malaysia’s Umno has denied abandoning disgraced ex-prime minister Najib Razak to save himself, as fissures emerge in the former ruling party over the mixed legal fortunes of two of its top leaders. Umno grass-roots members have urged President Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to quit Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s government in protest after the High Court blocked Najib’s bid to serve the remainder of his jail term under house arrest last month. It also handed the one-time party figurehead a... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3340180/malaysias-umno-chief-denies-he-sidelined-najib-secure-his-own-legal-freedom?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3340180/malaysias-umno-chief-denies-he-sidelined-najib-secure-his-own-legal-freedom?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 Jan 2026 10:07:42 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg The United Malays National Organisation (Umno), which for decades dominated Malaysian politics and remains a key member of the ruling coalition, is set to renew a push for the release of jailed former prime minister Najib Razak next week, even as it steps back from threats to quit the government. Resolutions pushing for a full pardon and demanding justice for Najib were the “hottest topic” submitted by the party’s 191 divisions ahead of its annual assembly, Secretary General Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3339387/malaysias-umno-seeks-najibs-pardon-amid-1mdb-scandal-while-staying-pm-anwars-coalition?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3339387/malaysias-umno-seeks-najibs-pardon-amid-1mdb-scandal-while-staying-pm-anwars-coalition?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Jan 2026 12:23:47 +0000 Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof Malaysia’s High Court is poised on Friday to deliver its verdict in the final criminal trial of jailed former prime minister Najib Razak, bringing to a close one of Southeast Asia’s most far-reaching corruption sagas. The case centres on allegations that the disgraced 72-year-old misappropriated 2.3 billion ringgit (US$490 million) from the scandal-ridden Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). Najib is currently in Kajang Prison, over halfway through a sentence... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3337730/1mdb-verdict-due-will-malaysias-najib-have-prepare-worst?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3337730/1mdb-verdict-due-will-malaysias-najib-have-prepare-worst?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 Dec 2025 11:12:09 +0000 Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof The children of ex-Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak have been yearning for their father to leave prison and the family to spend the New Year together. But their hopes were dashed this week after a court ruled against Najib’s application to return home under house arrest. In a five-minute video posted online shortly after the decision on Monday, Najib’s eldest son, Mohd Nizar Najib, said the family had gone to court prepared for both outcomes, but had quietly believed the long fight – based... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3337628/najibs-children-lament-malaysian-court-ruling-we-thought-he-was-coming-home?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3337628/najibs-children-lament-malaysian-court-ruling-we-thought-he-was-coming-home?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Dec 2025 08:57:18 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg Malaysia is set to receive 12 pieces of fine art – including works by Pablo Picasso, Joan Miro and Henri Matisse – after discussions with US officials to repatriate assets tied to the global corruption scandal at 1MDB. The works are being held by Christie’s and Sotheby’s auction houses in the United States and estimated to have a combined value of over US$30 million, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) said in a statement on Saturday. They were purchased by Jasmine Loo, a former... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3336454/malaysia-get-back-us30-million-worth-fine-art-linked-1mdb-scandal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3336454/malaysia-get-back-us30-million-worth-fine-art-linked-1mdb-scandal?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Dec 2025 06:33:51 +0000 Reuters Reuters Malaysian prosecutors have dropped their appeal against the acquittal of Rosmah Mansor, the wife of jailed former prime minister Najib Razak, in a case involving money laundering and tax evasion, saying they saw no prospect of success. Since 2018, the couple have been subject to multiple corruption investigations surrounding Najib’s alleged role in the multibillion-dollar 1MDB scandal. Both have repeatedly denied all wrongdoing. Rosmah, widely scorned in Malaysia for her extravagant lifestyle... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3336183/najibs-wife-cleared-malaysia-drops-money-laundering-tax-evasion-appeal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3336183/najibs-wife-cleared-malaysia-drops-money-laundering-tax-evasion-appeal?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 Dec 2025 05:56:10 +0000 The Star The Star The sister of fugitive Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho, whose whereabouts are still unknown, and a close associate were ordered by the Kuala Lumpur High Court to pay 11.58 billion ringgit (US$2.8 billion) to 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), over “tainted proceeds” misappropriated from the state fund. Justice Mahazan Mat Taib granted the judgment in default (JID) against Low May Lin, the sister of Low – better known as Jho Low – and Eric Tan, after the court found that 1MDB had decisively... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3334087/malaysia-court-orders-jho-lows-sister-and-associate-pay-us28-billion-1mdb?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3334087/malaysia-court-orders-jho-lows-sister-and-associate-pay-us28-billion-1mdb?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Nov 2025 09:29:24 +0000 Reuters Reuters A Singapore court has cleared the way for a US$2.7 billion lawsuit against Standard Chartered Bank over its alleged role in 1MDB fraud, liquidators seeking to recover the funds said on Monday. Singapore High Court dismissed an application by the bank to strike out a suit filed against it by liquidators, the liquidators said in a press release, calling it “a significant legal victory” allowing the case to continue. Liquidators trying to recover money from Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund 1MDB... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3333965/singapore-court-approves-us27-billion-1mdb-suit-against-standard-chartered?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3333965/singapore-court-approves-us27-billion-1mdb-suit-against-standard-chartered?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Nov 2025 10:36:53 +0000 Joseph Sipalan Joseph Sipalan For decades, London’s property market has offered sanctuary to fortunes of murky origins, its red-brick mansions and gleaming office blocks standing as monuments to global impunity. Now, as anti-corruption watchdogs from Malaysia to Bangladesh demand justice, Britain is once again forced to reckon with its role as the world’s premier laundromat for kleptocrats. Malaysia’s investigators revealed earlier this month that they were investigating the alleged London-based assets of former prime... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3326142/malaysia-bangladesh-asias-dirty-money-finds-home-uk-property?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3326142/malaysia-bangladesh-asias-dirty-money-finds-home-uk-property?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Sep 2025 00:00:12 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg The father of Altantuya Shaariibuu, who was murdered in 2006 by two bodyguards of the detail for officials including former Malaysian premier Najib Razak, has petitioned the courts to order a further investigation into her death. Shaariibuu Setev, 76, has applied for a judicial review to compel Malaysian authorities to investigate the contents of a sworn affidavit made from death row in 2019 by one of the men convicted of killing the Mongolian woman, Shaariibuu’s lawyer, Sangeet Kaur Deo, said... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3323432/altantuya-shaariibuu-murder-case-linked-malaysias-najib-takes-fresh-twist?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3323432/altantuya-shaariibuu-murder-case-linked-malaysias-najib-takes-fresh-twist?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 28 Aug 2025 04:15:11 +0000 Reuters Reuters JPMorgan Chase will pay the Malaysian government US$330 million as part of a settlement to resolve all matters related to its role in the multibillion-dollar scandal at state fund 1MDB, both parties said on Friday. Malaysian and US investigators say at least US$4.5 billion was stolen from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) in a globe-spanning scheme between 2009 and 2014. In 2021, 1MDB sued a unit of JPMorgan, along with those of Deutsche Bank and Coutts & Co, to recover alleged losses from the... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3322861/jpmorgan-settles-1mdb-scandal-malaysia-us330-million?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3322861/jpmorgan-settles-1mdb-scandal-malaysia-us330-million?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 22 Aug 2025 12:00:14 +0000 Joseph Sipalan Joseph Sipalan Malaysia’s highest court on Wednesday threw disgraced former prime minister Najib Razak a lifeline in his bid to trade prison for house arrest for his role in the 1MDB corruption scandal. The Federal Court dismissed a government bid to block Najib from seeking access to a purported royal order that he claims would permit him to serve the remainder of his six-year sentence at home rather than in Kajang prison, where he has been held since August 2022. Najib, 72, was convicted in 2020 of criminal... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3321672/malaysias-najib-gets-legal-lifeline-house-arrest-bid-over-1mdb-sentence?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3321672/malaysias-najib-gets-legal-lifeline-house-arrest-bid-over-1mdb-sentence?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Aug 2025 05:01:12 +0000 Hadi Azmi Hadi Azmi As the gavel passes to Malaysia’s new chief justice, old questions echo through Putrajaya. Can a judiciary led by a former Umno party insider truly deliver impartial justice, or will the shadows of political allegiance darken the bench? Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh, previously a Court of Appeal judge and once deputy home minister under prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, is set to assume the judiciary’s highest seat on Monday. But his past life as an Umno politician, and personal associations... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3319633/anwars-chief-justice-pick-tests-malaysias-faith-courts-why-one-exposed?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3319633/anwars-chief-justice-pick-tests-malaysias-faith-courts-why-one-exposed?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 27 Jul 2025 04:00:07 +0000 Reuters Reuters Liquidators for Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund 1MDB have sued Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore, alleging it enabled fraud that led to more than US$2.7 billion in financial losses more than 10 years ago. Standard Chartered, the UK-headquartered bank in Singapore, on Tuesday said that it emphatically rejected the claims. The move is the latest in a wide-ranging effort to recover money belonging to 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), from which US investigators say about US$4.5 billion was... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3316517/malaysian-liquidators-sue-standard-chartered-singapore-alleging-its-role-1mdb-fraud?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3316517/malaysian-liquidators-sue-standard-chartered-singapore-alleging-its-role-1mdb-fraud?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 Jul 2025 09:41:10 +0000