KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has recovered more than 23 million ringgit ($4.83 million) in assets related to scandal-hit state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) between January 2023 and February 2024, its anti-graft agency said on Thursday.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) said it recovered 1MDB assets both domestically and internationally through cooperation with the 1MDB asset recovery taskforce and foreign agencies, among other means.
“These funds and assets were successfully recovered through various means, including court orders, as well as voluntary surrender involving five individuals, and subsequently returned to the government of Malaysia,” it said in a statement.
Between 2019 to February 2024, a total of 29.03 billion ringgit in 1MDB assets have been recovered, the agency added.
Malaysian and US investigators estimate $4.5 billion were stolen from 1MDB, implicating former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, Goldman Sachs staff and high-level officials elsewhere.
Najib was sentenced to 12 years’ prison after being convicted in a case linked to the 1MDB scandal but had his sentence halved last week by a Malaysian pardons board.
Malaysia halves jail sentence of ex-prime minister Najib
Malaysia last month said it was considering initiating legal proceedings against foreign banks linked to the 1MDB scandal.
Johari Abdul Ghani, the chairman of the 1MDB asset recovery taskforce, did not identify the foreign banks but said they did not conduct proper due diligence before facilitating fund transfers related to the sovereign fund.
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