From the moment Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak took over 1Malaysia Development Bhd. in 2009 the fund has remained controversial. Plagued by heavy debt and questions about its management, 1MDB grew into a scandal that moved closer and closer to the heart of the Malaysian government and has resulted in numerous foreign probes.
U.S. prosecutors investigating Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s role in raising almost $6 billion for Malaysia’s 1MDB investment fund are asking questions about money flowing through accounts linked to Tim Leissner, the lead banker behind the transactions, according to people familiar with the matter.
Malaysia and Abu Dhabi have reached agreement on a partial debt settlement for embattled government fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd., the Straits Times reported, citing financial executives it didn’t identify.
Switzerland’s financial regulator fined Coutts & Co. Ltd. for violating money-laundering rules and illegally profiting from transactions associated with 1Malaysia Development Bhd, prompting Swiss prosecutors to review the decision to see if the bank should face a criminal investigation.
U.S. authorities are planning to file criminal charges against Malaysian financier Jho Low in a money laundering investigation surrounding 1Malaysia Development Bhd., the Wall Street Journal reported.
Switzerland’s financial regulator said it’s still investigating three private banks in relation to alleged corruption and money laundering at the Malaysian government fund known as 1MDB. A probe of UBS Group AG in the matter was closed.
A New Zealand Court has ruled that Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho’s family can change trustees holding their assets, keeping alive a fight to stop the U.S. from seizing $650 million in real estate and business investments allegedly acquired with stolen funds.
1Malaysia Development Bhd. has appointed a new auditor almost a year after Deloitte LLP notified the state investment company that it planned to resign.
Yeo Jiawei, a former BSI SA banker found guilty of attempting to tamper with witnesses in a Singapore probe linked to 1Malaysia Development Bhd., will appeal his conviction and sentence, according to his lawyer.
1Malaysia Development Bhd. paid the interest on its bonds that were due this quarter after the debt’s Abu Dhabi co-guarantor was compelled to service the coupons earlier in 2016, which had led to the deepening of a $6.5 billion dispute.
A key figure in the corruption scandal at 1Malaysia Development Bhd. has been released from a Thai prison and is awaiting deportation to Switzerland, his lawyer said.
Yvonne Seah Yew Foong, a former BSI SA private banker, became the second person to be convicted in Singapore’s investigation into alleged money laundering linked to 1Malaysia Development Bhd.
A U.S. effort to seize about $1 billion in assets allegedly acquired with funds siphoned from 1Malaysia Development Bhd. is moving ahead over objections from relatives of the Malaysian financier at the center of the scandal.
Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho’s family is reaching far and wide to stop the U.S. from seizing $650 million in real estate and business investments the government claims were acquired with funds stolen from his home country.
Singapore plans to bar former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. banker Tim Leissner from its securities industry for 10 years and fined Standard Chartered Plc and Coutts & Co. over breaches related to a scandal-plagued Malaysian sovereign fund.
Yak Yew Chee, a former BSI SA private banker, became the first person to be found guilty in a Singapore case linked to 1Malaysia Development Bhd. He also became the first banker to be convicted in the global corruption and money laundering probes surrounding the Malaysian investment fund.
Singapore police identified Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low, as a "key person of interest" in a money laundering probe surrounding 1Malaysia Development Bhd., according to testimony in court Thursday.
Embattled state fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd. spent more than three years trying unsuccessfully to list its $2.3 billion power arm. Now the business’s new owner is hoping it will have better luck.
Relatives of the financier accused by U.S. prosecutors of playing a central role in siphoning more than $3.5 billion from Malaysia’s state investment fund are fighting attempts to seize assets acquired with misappropriated funds.
19
China General Nuclear Power Corp., which bought embattled state fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd.’s power assets for $2.3 billion this year, is considering listing the business as early as 2017, people with knowledge of the matter said.
With Malaysian stocks on the brink of their longest stretch of annual losses ever, one money manager is buying amid bets valuations and signs of shifting overseas sentiment will spur a rebound.
21
Bonds of 1Malaysia Development Bhd. have surged despite broadening investigations into the state investment fund’s activities, as investors bet on the strength of its backers.
Switzerland and Singapore are bearing down on the banks linked to a corruption scandal at 1Malaysia Development Bhd., with the Swiss financial regulator saying enforcement proceedings are underway against UBS Group AG, one of six banks targeted, and the Asian city-state ordering one institution to cease operations and fining others.
Regulators ordered Falcon Private Bank to cease operations in Singapore and slammed the bank for “serious” breaches of anti-money laundering regulations in relation to its role in moving funds associated with the troubled 1Malaysia Development Bhd.
Malaysian developer Iskandar Waterfront Holdings Sdn. is considering reviving an initial public offering as early as 2017 as it steps up the construction of projects including one linked to embattled state fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd.
26
Singapore authorities charged two ex-BSI SA bank employees in a case linked to an embattled Malaysian investment fund at the center of international probes, accusing them of failing to disclose suspicious transactions involving a high-living financier.
Swiss prosecutors have asked Malaysian authorities for a second time to help gather evidence in a case against those accused of embezzling funds from 1Malaysia Development Bhd. after an initial request in January went unanswered.
28
Malaysia’s ringgit fell to the lowest in more than two months as a decline in oil prices and a controversy involving a troubled state fund damped demand for the nation’s assets.
Singapore filed two more charges against former BSI SA employee Yeo Jiawei as the attorney-general’s office prepares to present its case in October against the private banker involved in probes related to 1Malaysia Development Bhd.
Malaysia will take legal action against those who allegedly defrauded its state investment company 1Malaysia Development Bhd. as the government seeks to defend its reputation and credibility.
New York’s top banking regulator asked Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to supply more information about its work for a Malaysian investment fund amid investigations into whether any money laundering, sanctions violations or other misconduct occurred.
She was the general counsel for Malaysia’s 1MDB investment fund. She was also 1MDB’s liaison to Goldman Sachs Group Inc., the global bank that helped it raise $6 billion.
1Malaysia Development Bhd. said its audited financial statements for 2013 and 2014 shouldn’t be relied on after U.S. prosecutors said more than $3.5 billion was misappropriated from the fund during a period that included those years.
The day U.S. prosecutors alleged massive fraud at a Malaysian state fund, it was business as usual thousands of miles away for Prime Minister Najib Razak. Attending an evening feast for thousands of civil servants, he shook hands and posed for selfies.
37
Malaysia’s ringgit posted its biggest weekly drop in 10 months as lower crude oil prices and the fallout from a controversy involving a state investment firm sapped demand for the nation’s assets. Bonds rose.
Swiss authorities seized paintings by Claude Monet and Vincent Van Gogh as part of a U.S. probe into money-laundering and misappropriation involving the Malaysian development fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd.
It’s been less than two years since U.S. President Barack Obama and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak laughed and chatted during a round of golf as they both holidayed in Hawaii.
Singapore’s central bank, which on Thursday singled out banks including UBS Group AG for lapses related to Malaysia’s scandal-riven investment fund, also put other financial firms on notice that it isn’t done probing the sector.
How could billions of dollars meant for economic development find its way past bank watchdogs and end up paying for paintings, mansions and a stake in a Hollywood movie?
As U.S. prosecutors seek to seize $1 billion in assets they say came from funds misappropriated from 1Malaysia Development Bhd., investors in the state fund’s debt are focusing on whether any such holdings would be brought back home.
One apartment in Manhattan’s Time Warner Center has a 64-foot-long terrace outside a master suite with a walk-in closet, two bathrooms and a separate dressing room. A mansion in Beverly Hills features a pyramid in the middle of an indoor pool.
Malaysia’s government said it will cooperate with lawful investigations of local companies or its citizens, as U.S. prosecutors seek to seize $1 billion in assets they say are linked to a fraud trail leading from a Malaysia state fund.
The global hunt for ill-gotten gains linked to a politically connected Malaysian state investment company widened on Thursday, as Singapore vowed to take action against four banks for what it called serious lapses in their anti-money laundering controls and seized S$240 million ($177 million) in assets linked to the financial institution known as 1MDB.
More than $3.5 billion traveled a trail of fraud from Malaysia through a web of shell companies, with some fueling a spending binge on Monet paintings and luxury real estate and at least $700 million flowing back into accounts controlled by Malaysia’s prime minister.
UBS Group AG flagged suspicious transactions linked to 1Malaysia Development Bhd. to the Monetary Authority of Singapore, prompting an investigation of the accounts involved, a person familiar with the matter said.
Private bank BSI, which is being acquired by EFG International AG, is challenging a 95 million Swiss franc ($100 million) penalty issued by Switzerland’s financial regulator over the lender’s ties to 1Malaysia Development Bhd.
1Malaysia Development Bhd. said it’s confident of its legal position in a debt payment dispute with an Abu Dhabi sovereign fund that is seeking arbitration.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said he hasn’t abused his leadership positions, according to court documents filed as part of his defense against graft allegations made by his biggest critic, former premier Mahathir Mohamad.
Even in Asia’s cutthroat world of wealth management, the news of a mass defection at RBS Coutts, venerable bankers to the British royals, came as a shock.
53
Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, embroiled in a debt payment dispute with 1Malaysia Development Bhd., is seeking $6.5 billion from the troubled Malaysian state investment company as it moves the spat into arbitration.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is drawing scrutiny from New York’s bank regulator over its fundraising for Malaysia’s embattled 1MDB fund, according to a person briefed on the matter, as questions mount about the bank’s role in the international scandal.
Singapore said none of the banks in the city state had received $3 billion from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. related to a bond sale by 1Malaysia Development Bhd.
56
Malaysia’s troubled state investment company 1Malaysia Development Bhd. defended its liquidity position after Moody’s Investors Service withdrew the rating for one of its bonds.
Malaysia appointed new directors to 1Malaysia Development Bhd. after dissolving the advisory board that was headed by Prime Minister Najib Razak amid global investigations into alleged money laundering and embezzlement at the state fund.
Foreign funds are making a dash for the exit as international probes related to troubled 1Malaysia Development Bhd. widen into one of the worst global financial scandals. Overseas investors have pulled money from Malaysian stocks for a fifth straight week following the longest buying spree in two years. The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index is the only decliner among major developing peers in Southeast Asia in 2016.
Malaysia’s troubled state investment company 1Malaysia Development Bhd. paid the coupon on its Islamic debt after missing two payments on other securities earlier.
Malaysia’s troubled state investment company 1Malaysia Development Bhd. said it has paid a fine imposed by the nation’s central bank for non-compliance.
When Malaysia’s largest sovereign wealth fund asked bankers to pitch for work arranging a $750 million bond sale in December, one big name was conspicuous by its absence: Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
Global probes related to a troubled Malaysian state fund have enmeshed the biggest casualty to date: a 143-year-old Swiss bank.
64
In 2010, BSI SA’s business in Asia was flying high. The Swiss private bank had increased its workforce in the region sixfold from the previous year after scooping up a third of RBS Coutts Bank Ltd.’s Singapore employees.
Singapore is closing Swiss bank BSI SA’s unit in the city-state and Switzerland began criminal proceedings against the firm, as investigations into a troubled Malaysian state fund reverberate throughout the private bank’s international operations.
Singapore is closing Swiss bank BSI SA’s unit in the city-state and Switzerland began criminal proceedings against the firm, as investigations into a troubled Malaysian state fund reverberate throughout the private bank’s international operations. Bloomberg's Shamim Adam reports on "First Up." (Source: Bloomberg)
BSI SA, the Swiss bank embroiled in global probes into 1Malaysia Development Bhd., is investigating employees and their dealings related to the embattled Malaysian state investment fund, according to people familiar with the matter.
The stepson of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak allegedly used funds diverted from a state investment company to buy properties in the U.S., the Wall Street Journal reported.
69
Red Granite Pictures, a Hollywood production company that backed “The Wolf of Wall Street,” said it’s cooperating with inquiries amid a report that it indirectly obtained funds from a Malaysian state company under investigation for alleged embezzlement.
The former BSI SA private banker charged amid probes related to the troubled 1Malaysia Development Bhd. was also accused of forgery with Singapore authorities signaling they plan to bring the investigations to a close within weeks.
71
1Malaysia Development Bhd., the troubled state-owned investment company whose advisory board has been headed by Prime Minister Najib Razak, has gotten a bit of breathing space.
1Malaysia Development Bhd. bonds rose after Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, which guarantees some of the Malaysian fund’s notes, paid interest due Wednesday on 1MDB securities.
As Malaysia’s state-owned investment company reaches out to bondholders to explain why it has defaulted, some investors say they can’t wait to hear the end of the saga.
1Malaysia Development Bhd., the state-owned investment company that defaulted on a $1.75 billion bond last month following a dispute with a co-guarantor, is reaching out to dollar bondholders to explain why it didn’t pay the interest on the notes.
Singapore authorities brought three further charges against Yeo Jiawei, the former BSI SA private banker caught up in probes related to 1Malaysia Development Bhd., in a court hearing on Thursday.
1Malaysia Development Bhd., the state-owned investment company that defaulted on a $1.75 billion bond last week, is asking investors to hold off any request for early repayment on its Islamic debt, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Hong Kong bank accounts belonging to several unnamed individuals have been frozen amid global investigations into the finances of a troubled Malaysian state fund, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
Malaysia’s 10-year government bonds completed the biggest weekly drop in almost three months as a debt default by a state investment company damped demand for the nation’s assets.
Singapore authorities brought two more charges against a former private banker held without bail following a probe into an embattled Malaysian state fund, while another man has been accused of corruption.
Malaysia’s central bank slapped a fine on 1Malaysia Development Bhd. and announced it was ending its investigation into the troubled state fund, drawing one line under months of probes of 1MDB’s finances.
82
Bondholders of 1Malaysia Development Bhd. face the threat of more complications ahead of another bond interest payment due next month amid a tussle with Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund that has already resulted in a default.
Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund said on Monday it will pay bondholders of Malaysia’s troubled investment company should the latter default on an interest payment of $50 million.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. says drops in bond prices at 1Malaysia Development Bhd. amid a dispute with Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund have created a buying opportunity.
Singapore authorities have charged a former private banker with money laundering, following their probe into an embattled Malaysian state investment fund, according to people familiar with the case.
Malaysia paid a bigger premium to bondholders to own some of its new Islamic debt as a delayed interest payment by its troubled state investment fund weighed on demand.
One thing is sure: 1Malaysia Development Bhd. has enough money not to default on its $1.75 billion bond. What’s not sure is who’s going to make the interest payment.
1Malaysia Development Bhd.’s bonds maturing in March 2023 rose, halting a three-day slide on concern the state investment company may default on its debt obligations after a spat with Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund.
In the rainforests of Borneo island, the name 1MDB doesn’t mean much. About a thousand kilometers from the Malaysian capital, more basic issues are likely to return Prime Minister Najib Razak’s coalition to power in the Sarawak state election next month.
A loan dispute between 1Malaysia Development Bhd. and the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund puts in doubt the progress of the Malaysian state investment company’s debt restructuring efforts, according to Moody’s Investors Service.
Malaysia’s state investment company, already a target of global investigations into allegations of money laundering and embezzlement, has another major problem: It now faces the risk of sinking into default.
Malaysia’s central bank warned the government as early as 2014 of risks to the financial system from debt-ridden state investment company 1Malaysia Development Bhd., Governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz said.
Saudi Arabia said a large donation to Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was "genuine," providing some clarity on the source of the funds amid reports the money came via a Malaysian state investment company.
1Malaysia Development Bhd., the troubled Malaysian state fund that’s the subject of global investigations, said it could be a victim of fraud if payments of $3.5 billion intended for an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund never made it there.
Swiss prosecutors widened their criminal probe into allegations of bribery and corruption at 1Malaysia Development Bhd., and have asked Luxembourg and Singapore authorities for help with an investigation into the government fund.
New questions about Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak's involvement in the troubled state fund continue to play out. Now, we have transcripts from a parliamentary hearing highlighting the prime minister's involvement in decisions on questionable transactions at 1MDB. Bloomberg's Shery Ahn reports on "First Up." (Source: Bloomberg)
Transcripts from a Malaysian parliamentary hearing into a troubled state fund highlight Prime Minister Najib Razak’s involvement in decisions on questionable transactions that bypassed the board of directors and finance ministry.
Malaysian lawmakers sought to draw a line under the corruption allegations surrounding state investment company 1MDB, pinning the blame for financial lapses on its former chief executive and absolving his political bosses of responsibility for a scandal that’s roiled markets and sparked worldwide graft probes.
From the moment Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak took over the fund in 2009, 1Malaysia Development Bhd. has remained controversial. It was set up by the oil-rich state Terengganu and was turned by Najib into a federal government-owned development fund.
The unauthorized reference letter that led Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to suspend star banker Tim Leissner was written on behalf of a Malaysian financier tied to an investment fund at the center of an international inquiry, three people familiar with the matter said.
The prime minister of Malaysia had a message for the crowd at the Grand Hyatt San Francisco in September 2013. “We cannot have an egalitarian society -- it’s impossible to have an egalitarian society,” Najib Razak said. “But certainly we can achieve a more equitable society.”
104
Switzerland’s financial regulator will investigate “suspicious” bank connections that have surfaced in leaked Panama documents and is stepping up probes into a troubled Malaysian development fund and Petroleo Brasileiro SA.
Grupo BTG Pactual and Assicurazioni Generali SpA are in disagreement over which firm should bear potential losses tied to Swiss bank BSI AG’s dealings with a Malaysian fund.
JPMorgan Chase & Co., Deutsche Bank AG and Wells Fargo & Co. have been asked by U.S. authorities to retain and turn over records that may be related to improper transfers from an embattled Malaysian state fund, according to people familiar with the matter.
Authorities in Luxembourg and Singapore are investigating transactions involving 1Malaysia Development Bhd. as the Malaysian state fund faces expanding probes into allegations of embezzlement and money laundering.
Former investment banker Arul Kanda took a job in Malaysia last year and walked into the crossfire of the country’s biggest political crisis since Prime Minister Najib Razak came to power in 2009.
Bloomberg's Haslinda Amin reports on 1Malaysia Development Bhd.'s plan to sell assets and pay off $1.5 billion. She speaks on "First Up." (Source: Bloomberg)
111
Yak Yew Chee, a BSI Bank Singapore executive whose financial accounts were frozen as part of a probe related to a Malaysian government fund, left the bank last month, according to the firm.
The Malaysian state investment company at the center of multiple financial probes said it will repay 6 billion ringgit ($1.5 billion) in coming weeks as asset sales give it room to pare down debt.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. hired the daughter of an ally to Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak around the time the firm’s bankers were pitching business to the country’s government investment fund, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unidentified people.
A former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. banker has become entangled in a sprawling investigation of the Malaysian state investment fund as U.S. authorities turn to him for information.
A private banker at Grupo BTG Pactual SA’s Singapore unit had his bank accounts frozen and was questioned in a probe related to a debt-ridden Malaysian government investment fund, according to people familiar with the case.
1Malaysia Development Bhd. will trim its debt by 40.4 billion ringgit ($9.4 billion) once it completes agreed asset sales, Prime Minister Najib Razak said Thursday after the state-owned fund announced its latest asset-disposal pact.
117
1Malaysia Development Bhd. agreed to sell its 60 percent stake in a Kuala Lumpur property project to a joint venture between Iskandar Waterfront Holdings Sdn. and China Railway Construction Corp. for 7.41 billion ringgit ($1.7 billion), moving closer to winding down and selling assets after rising debt raised investor concern.
Singapore has seized “a large number” of bank accounts in connection with possible money-laundering in the country, the Monetary Authority of Singapore and Commercial Affairs Department said in a joint e-mailed statement in response to queries on 1Malaysia Development Bhd.
Investigators at the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Justice Department have begun examining the role of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in a series of transactions at 1Malaysia Development Bhd., the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Malaysia’s central bank had to take action against a debt-ridden state investment company to protect the integrity of the financial system, according to Governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz, who said an improvement in the country’s political situation would help the ringgit.
1Malaysia Development Bhd. said it shouldn’t be held responsible for the ringgit’s weakness, objecting to comments by central bank Governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz.
Malaysia Prime Minister Najib Razak’s biggest source of support -- his own party -- could also be the most realistic threat to his leadership.
124
An audit of Malaysia’s troubled state investment company didn’t find any suspicious activity, providing a reprieve for Prime Minister Najib Razak as he fends off claims that money connected to the firm may have ended up in his own bank accounts.
1Malaysia Development Bhd. denied it had funneled funds into Prime Minister Najib Razak’s personal bank accounts, rejecting reports saying investigators believed they had found such a money trail.
