1MDB: Malaysia 'will co-operate' with US investigation

The office of Prime Minister Najib Razak has said Malaysia will "fully co-operate" with any lawful investigation into scandal-hit state fund 1MDB.

US authorities moved on Tuesday to seize more than $1bn (£761m) in assets from the fund set up by Mr Najib to transform Malaysia into a banking hub.

Mr Najib is not named directly in the papers but "Malaysia official 1" is identifiable as someone whose account allegedly received funds.

He has always denied any wrongdoing.

Mr Najib was officially cleared of criminality by the country's attorney general earlier this year.

 The court papers, filed in Los Angeles, allege that misappropriated 1MDB money was laundered through accounts in the US.

The US justice department alleges the money financed lavish lifestyles of "multiple individuals including public officials".

FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe told reporters in Washington: "The Malaysian people were defrauded on an enormous scale."

If successful, the US justice department intends to seize assets including property in the US, UK and Switzerland.

There is no allegation that Mr Najib spent any of the money but people close to him are accused of using billions of dollars to buy jewellery, art and luxury properties; pay gambling expenses; and hire musicians and celebrities to attend parties.

Read more on BBC

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U.S. Maps 1MDB Fraud Trail From Kuala Lumpur to Hollywood

More than $3.5 billion traveled a trail of fraud from Malaysia through a web of shell companies, with some fueling a spending binge on Monet paintings and luxury real estate and at least $700 million flowing back into accounts controlled by Malaysia’s prime minister.

Some of the money was handled by international banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Standard Chartered Plc and Deutsche Bank AG. A chunk of it funded a Hollywood blockbuster, “The Wolf of Wall Street.” More than $13 million of it was wired to an account at a Las Vegas casino by a stepson of Malaysia’s prime minister who gambled with an unidentified actor whose description matches that of Leonardo DiCaprio.

 It’s all laid out in a dozen filings Wednesday by U.S. prosecutors who detailed an alleged scheme of international money laundering and misappropriation stretching from 2009 to 2015. The Justice Department is seeking to seize more than $1 billion worth of assets it says went through U.S. banks from Malaysian development fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad, known as 1MDB, and was ultimately used to illegally acquire assets.

The U.S. complaints lays the groundwork for tension with Malaysia, a longtime ally on issues including counterterrorism and trade. Prosecutors refer to a top Malaysian official who controlled accounts that received hundreds of millions of dollars. The official isn’t accused of wrongdoing.

The anonymous description lines up with that of Prime Minister Najib Razak, who until a few months ago served as the chairman of 1MDB’s advisory board.

Read more on Bloomberg

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Mahathir Mohamad on corruption and 'saving Malaysia'

We challenge Malaysia's former prime minister, and also debate Ethiopia's treatment of the Oromo people.

In this week's UpFront, we speak to Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia's former leader, about his call for Prime Minister Najib Razak to resign.

In the Reality Check, Mehdi Hasan examines why drone strikes are ineffective. And in the Arena, we debate Ethiopia's treatment of the Oromo people with the Ethiopian communications minister and an Oromo Democratic Front (ODF) executive committee member.

Malaysia's former prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, wants to "save Malaysia" and oust the country's current PM Najib Razak over claims that he mismanaged the economy, suppressed free speech and allegedly took hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes, all accusations the PM denies.

The "Save Malaysia" movement, led by Mahathir and made up of opposition leaders from across the political spectrum, is centred on a multimillion-dollar corruption scandal that alleges nearly $700m found in Najib's personal bank accounts came from the state-funded 1Malaysia development fund. Najib, however, says the money was a campaign donation from Saudi Arabia and has since been returned.

Mahathir, who served as the country's prime minister for 22 years, says that Najib must "go" and that his "leadership undermines" Malaysia's institutions. In this week's Headliner, Mehdi Hasan challenges Mahathir on his campaign to oust the current prime minister.

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Swiss widen corruption investigation into Malaysia's 1MDB fund

Switzerland has widened its corruption probe into a Malaysian state-owned fund linked to prime minister Najib Razak, with two new suspects indicted over an alleged phony bond deal.
The Swiss attorney general’s office (OAG) said the new suspects – who are accused of fraud, bribery and other offences – are officials from the United Arab Emirates who were in charge of sovereign funds based in Abu Dhabi.

In a statement, the OAG said it had evidence that the management of the 1MDB fund violated Swiss embezzlement laws through a fraudulent bond agreement with the UAE officials, with money routed through Swiss banks.

Allegations that billions were looted from 1MDB in a vast campaign of fraud have shaken Najib’s government.

The scandal intensified last week when a Malaysian parliamentary committee clearly suggested misconduct had occurred, in the first condemnation from an official body in Kuala Lumpur.

Switzerland opened its own criminal probe into 1MDB last August, targeting two former Malaysian officials “and persons unknown” on suspicion of bribery, money laundering and other offences.
The OAG has said that up to $4bn of public funds in Malaysia may have been misappropriated, with a portion of the money transferred to Swiss accounts controlled by former Malaysian officials and people based in the UAE.

Concerning the latest allegations, Swiss authorities are scrutinising bonds issued by 1MDB subsidiaries officially intended to finance electric power plant projects in Malaysia.

Read more on The Guardian

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How Malaysia's 1MDB Fund Scandal Reaches Around the World

State investment company 1Malaysia Development Bhd., or 1MDB, has been making headlines in Malaysia and around the world in the past year, mainly for the wrong reasons. There are probes reported in at least ten countries related to 1MDB, or on companies and individuals linked to it.

Investigations surrounding 1MDB center on alleged financial irregularities and possible money laundering. Both 1MDB and Prime Minister Najib Razak have consistently denied wrongdoing, and the fund continues to state that no foreign legal authorities have contacted them on any of these investigations. Here's a snapshot of the various probes.

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