KUALA LUMPUR: The US Justice Department said it has reached an agreement to recoup an additional RM89 million (US$20 million) in funds stolen from Malaysian state investment fund 1MDB.
"The department continues to litigate actions against additional assets allegedly linked to this scheme," it said in a statement last Friday.
It said the funds were laundered through major financial institutions worldwide, including in the United States, Switzerland, Singapore, and Luxembourg.
US authorities allege that roughly RM20 billion was diverted from 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), which was set up in 2009 by Datuk Seri Najib Razak, the former Malaysian prime minister, who is currently serving a reduced six-year jail term for corruption.
Najib was initially sentenced to 12 years in prison.
In June 2024, the department announced that it had recovered and helped return around RM6.58 billion to Malaysia.
As stated in the civil forfeiture complaints, between 2009 and 2015, over RM21 billion from 1MDB was misappropriated by senior officials and their associates, including fugitive financier Jho Low, through a scheme involving international money laundering and embezzlement.
Starting in 2016, a major effort began with 43 civil forfeiture actions in the US, resulting in the seizure of more than RM7.9 billion in stolen assets, it said.
1MDB was created by the government of Malaysia to promote economic development in Malaysia through global partnerships and foreign direct investment.
Instead, funds held by 1MDB and proceeds of bonds issued for and on behalf of 1MDB were misappropriated and spent on a wide variety of extravagant items, including luxury homes and properties in Beverly Hills, California, New York, and London; a 300-foot superyacht; and fine art by Monet and Van Gogh.
Najib is currently on trial facing four charges of abuse of power and 21 charges of money laundering for allegedly receiving 2.3 billion ringgit ($526 million) from 1MDB. He has pleaded not guilty.