SINGAPORE (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK, REUTERS) - Malaysia aims to retrieve US$7 billion (S$9.5 billion) in misappropriated funds from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) from various countries, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said on Friday (May 3).
"I heard about this and I think they (various countries) know it is our money, so they will give it back. Singapore will also give back our money. We are hoping to get back US$7 billion," he told media.
US authorities will this month return US$200 million stolen from Malaysian state fund 1MDB, including money from a stake in a luxury New York hotel and from a Hollywood movie producer, Reuters reported earlier, citing two sources with direct knowledge of the matter.
The US Department of Justice, in the biggest-ever case in its anti-kleptocracy programme, is pursuing billions of dollars it says were misappropriated from the state fund founded by former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak.
Tun Mahathir, who defeated Najib in a shock election result last year, is working with at least six countries to recover about US$4.5 billion the US Department of Justice says was stolen from 1MDB.
The tranche of money the United States will return includes US$140 million from the sale of a stake in New York's Park Lane Hotel, after it was given up by fugitive Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho, known as Jho Low, the two sources said.
Jho Low, the alleged mastermind behind the looting of 1MDB, is wanted by Malaysian authorities on criminal charges. Low, whose whereabouts are not known, has denied wrongdoing.
The sources said the rest of the money was US$60 million from Red Granite Pictures, co-founded by Najib's stepson, Riza Aziz, which agreed in March 2018 to pay the US government to settle a civil lawsuit over allegations 1MDB money was used to finance the film The Wolf Of Wall Street.
The US Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for comment.
Separately, Singapore police said on Friday that US$26 million in 1MDB-related funds was in the process of being returned to Malaysia, the latest tranche in US$176 million in cash and properties seized by the city-state relating to the scandal.
Malaysia recouped US$126 million last month by selling a superyacht, Equanimity, which was bought by Jho Low for US$250 million with funds allegedly stolen from 1MDB.
Malaysia has also filed criminal charges against Goldman Sachs for its role in raising money for 1MDB.
The investment bank says it conducted correct due diligence.
Prosecutors in the US Attorney's Office in Brooklyn have said a former Goldman Sachs employee has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder money.
