KL can freeze $471m of PetroSaudi funds linked to 1MDB

KUALA LUMPUR • The Kuala Lumpur High Court has granted Malaysia's government an interim order to prevent US$340 million (S$471 million) of funds linked to 1MDB from being moved from PetroSaudi International's accounts in the United Kingdom.

A judge has set Aug 28 for the next hearing on the forfeiture lawsuit filed by the Malaysian government against PetroSaudi and its director Tarek Obaid.

Tarek had previously been charged in his absence with engaging in criminal conspiracy with the country's former prime minister Najib Razak and with illegally receiving US$300 million from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

"This is the first step, to freeze the account, the next step is to bring the money back," said Mr Nizamuddin Hamid, a lawyer for the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.

The money has been moved to an escrow account held by Clyde & Co in London and the commission will submit a mutual legal assistance request to the UK authorities to freeze the funds.

The 1MDB scandal has sparked global investigations into corruption and money laundering with prosecutors estimating US$4.5 billion was siphoned from the Malaysian investment fund.

Since Najib was ousted in 2018, the country has reopened investigations and sought to find the billions of dollars missing from 1MDB. It has brought back US$600 million with help from the American authorities and recouped millions of dollars more with assistance from Singapore.

Najib's party has since returned to power following political turmoil in February that ended with the appointment of Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as Prime Minister. Mr Muhyiddin has pledged to continue fighting corruption and working with the authorities around the world to recoup the funds, even as his government faced backlash for striking a deal with Najib's stepson to drop a different set of 1MDB-related charges.

BLOOMBERG