The US Department of Justice is conducting a criminal probe into 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and has asked for a stay on its civil lawsuits in connection with US$1.7 billion in assets allegedly bought with money stolen from the scandal-hit state fund.
A total of US$4.5 billion was misappropriated from 1MDB by high-level officials of the fund and their associates, according to dozens of civil lawsuits filed by the department in the past two years.
The department wants to delay the civil proceedings, saying that any disclosures would have an “adverse effect” on the government’s ability to conduct its criminal probe, according to the latest court filing lodged on Thursday at the Central District Court in California.
The criminal investigation was started before the civil lawsuits, the department said.
It said the investigation was “global in scope,” with crimes committed over several years in numerous countries.
In a declaration included in the filing, an FBI agent said that disclosures were “likely to reveal potential targets and subjects of the investigation.”
“Such disclosures could result in the destruction of evidence, flight of potential subjects and targets, or the identification and intimidation of potential witnesses,” the agent said.
The Malaysian fund, founded by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, is facing money laundering investigations in at least six countries including the US, Switzerland and Singapore.
In its civil lawsuits filed previously, the department sought to seize a total of about US$1.7 billion in assets that it said were bought with misappropriated 1MDB funds.
The lawsuits also said US$681 million from 1MDB was transferred to the account of “Malaysian Official 1,” which US and Malaysian sources have previously identified as Najib.
Najib has denied any wrongdoing and a Malaysian government investigation has cleared him of any charges.
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