Bank accounts seized in Singapore over Malaysia's '1MDB scandal'
-
1MDB (1Malaysia Development Berhad) is a strategic development company, wholly owned by the Government of Malaysia, involved in a money scandal (AFP Photo)
A large number of bank accounts have been seized by the Singaporean government over alleged crimes linked to the Malaysian government.
According to Press TV, the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Commercial Affairs Department announced in a joint statement on Monday that since mid-2015 investigations have been underway to find "possible money laundering and other offenses carried out in Singapore" in connection with an investment fund belonging to the Malaysian government.
A sum of four billion dollars is reportedly missing from the 1Malaysia Development Berhad, also known as the 1MDB fund, earmarked for investment in economic and social development projects in Malaysia.
The agencies said Singapore is in close cooperation with authorities in Malaysia, Switzerland and the United States to gather information for the investigation.
"In connection with these investigations, we have sought and are continuing to seek information from several financial institutions, are interviewing various individuals, and have seized a large number of bank accounts," they said, adding, “As investigations are still ongoing, we are not able to provide more details at this stage."
An initial investigation confirmed that some money from the state fund was transferred into accounts held in Switzerland.
ME
