Malaysia recovers 70 pct of embezzled money in 1MDB scandal

Bangkok, Mar 7 (EFE).- Malaysian authorities said Tuesday that they have recovered around 70 percent of the money and assets embezzled from state-owned investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), one of the biggest corruption cases in the world.

Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Azam Baki stated that RM28.93 billion (US$6.46 billion) have been recovered until now, according to state-owned news agency Bernama.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim praised the work done by the public prosecutor’s office and the MACC after Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) and its subsidiary Aabar Investments agreed to pay US$1.8 billion to Malaysia regarding 1MDB.

The 1MDB corruption scandal came to light in 2015, when a journalistic investigation exposed the siphoning of billions of dollars from the state coffers to the private accounts of the founder of the fund and then-Prime Minister Najib Razak.

According to police investigations, Najib and his accomplices diverted $4.5 billion from the fund to their personal accounts, a scandal that contributed to his fall from power as he lost the general elections in May 2018.

In Aug 2022, Najib was sentenced to 12 years in prison for receiving bribes related to 1MDB and is currently facing four other trials and several more charges concerning the matter

The scandal, which is being investigated in multiple countries, including the United States, involved several bankers at Goldman Sachs, a multinational investment banking firm which pledged to return $2.5 billion so as to avoid facing trial for bribery and other crimes. EFE

grc/ss/sc