1MDB Sues Two Global Firms, Others to Recoup $23 Billion
1MDB Sues Two Global Firms, Others to Recoup $23 Billion
Bloomberg News
,(Bloomberg) — Malaysian state-owned investment fund 1MDB and a former unit have filed a combined 22 civil suits against entities and individuals for the recovery of assets worth more than $23 billion.
1MDB, whose full name is 1Malaysia Development Bhd., filed six suits against nine entities, including two foreign financial institutions, and 25 individuals for various wrongdoings including fraud and conspiracy to defraud the fund, the Finance Ministry said in a statement Monday.
SRC International Sdn. filed 16 suits against 15 individuals and eight entities for various wrongdoings including abuse of power and breach of fiduciary duties in public office, the ministry said without identifying those being sued.
The move adds to the growing fallout from the 1MDB scandal that has spurred court cases around the world as Malaysian authorities try to track down money that was siphoned off from the troubled economic development fund.
Read: How Malaysia’s 1MDB Scandal Shook the Financial World: QuickTake
In March, Deloitte PLT agreed to a 324-million ringgit ($80 million) settlement with the Malaysian government to resolve all claims related to the firm’s audit of 1MDB and SRC between 2011-2014. The deal also came less than a week after Malaysian lender AMMB Holdings Bhd. agreed to a $699 million settlement over its role in dealings linked to 1MDB.
“The Government’s recovery efforts are now focused on pursuing other wrongdoers who have caused losses to 1MDB and or SRC during the execution of their duties, as parties directly or indirectly involved in 1MDB and or SRC’s various operations and transactions,” Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz said in the statement.
Goldman Sachs last year admitted its role in the biggest foreign bribery case in U.S. enforcement history, reaching multiple international settlements in the billions of dollars to end probes into its fundraising for 1MDB.
A Malaysian court is currently hearing an appeal by ex-Prime Minister Najib Razak to overturn his conviction and 12-year jail sentence linked to the 1MDB scandal that brought down his government in 2018.
(Updates with background.)
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