Singapore's High Commission in Malaysia has described an online news article linking Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal as fake news and libellous.

The Nov 7 article was carried on the website of The Coverage, which describes itself as a "social news network based in Malaysia".

The source for the article was listed as "Straights Review" and was linked to a similar article on the States Times Review website.

In response to queries from the Malaysian media, Singapore's High Commission in Malaysia referred to the article titled "Breaking News: Singapore Lee Hsien Loong becomes 1MDB's key investigation target - Najib signed several unfair agreements with Hsien Loong in exchange for money laundering", and said: "The High Commission of the Republic of Singapore in Malaysia would like to categorically state that this article is fake news and clearly libellous."

Najib Razak, the former prime minister of Malaysia, is facing corruption charges over the misuse of funds from 1MDB, the state investment vehicle founded in 2009.