IMDB scandal | Malaysia: US to return $196m in seized assets

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak

Malaysia’s attorney general said yesterday that the U.S. will return USD196 million recovered from seized assets linked to the multibillion-dollar looting of the 1MDB state investment fund, part of which has already been repatriated.

Attorney General Tommy Thomas said Malaysia has received a first tranche of $57 million that came from a settlement reached with Red Granite Pictures Inc., the production company behind the 2013 Leonardo DiCaprio film “The Wolf of Wall Street.”

Red Granite, owned by the stepson of former Malaysian leader Najib Razak, paid the U.S. government $60 million last year to settle claims that it benefited from the 1MDB scandal. Thomas said the U.S. withheld $3 million to cover its investigation costs.

Thomas said in a statement that the U.S. is in the process of remitting another $139 million from the sale of a Manhattan property linked to fugitive Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho, who is wanted in both the U.S. and Malaysia.

U.S. investigators say more than $4.5 billion was stolen from 1MDB by associates of Najib between 2009 and 2014 and authorities are working to recover some $1.7 billion. They say the ill-gotten gains were laundered through layers of bank accounts in the U.S. and other countries to finance Hollywood films and buy hotels, a luxury yacht, art works, jewelry and other extravagances.

Some $700 million from the fund that Najib set up for Malaysia’s economic development allegedly landed in his own bank account. Anger over the 1MDB scandal led to the spectacular election defeat of Najib’s long-ruling coalition a year ago. Najib is now on trial for multiple counts of corruption linked to 1MDB.

Thomas said Malaysia’s government has recovered a total of $322 million worth of 1MDB assets so far.

Apart from the U.S. recoveries, Singapore is also returning 50 million Singapore dollars in funds linked to 1MDB and the government sold a luxury yacht bought with 1MDB funds by Low for $126 million, Thomas said.

“1MDB asset recovery efforts across the globe are still ongoing and Malaysia is optimistic of recovering further monies in the coming months,” he said. AP