PUTRAJAYA – The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), with the cooperation and assistance of international enforcement agencies, has managed to return 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) assets amounting to RM20,530,433,626.97 to the Malaysian government.
In a statement today, MACC said it was actively seeking to recover 1MDB fund assets in the country and abroad including in the United States, United Arab Emirates, Taiwan, and Singapore.
Most recently on November 12, Singapore’s Commercial Affairs Department returned the money belonging to former SRC International Sdn Bhd (SRC) chief executive officer Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil through the Finance Ministry’s Assets Recovery Trust Account totalling US$864,813.27 (RM3.6 million).
Earlier, MACC said the Singaporean government had also assisted in the return of assets worth US$15.4 million to Malaysia involving the accounts of Cutting Edge Industries Ltd owned by Datuk Tawfiq Ayman and Samuel Goh.
(Tawfiq is the husband of former Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar Aziz.)
“MACC is also in the process of recovering assets from countries such as Switzerland, Kuwait, Mauritius, Cyprus, and Hong Kong, involving individuals connected to the 1MDB case,” read the statement.
On May 12, the Finance Ministry announced that the US Justice Department has remitted some RM1.9 billion in funds related to 1MDB into Malaysia’s Asset Recovery Trust Account. So far, the account, which is under the custody of the Accountant-General’s Department, has received RM16.05 billion of seized and repatriated 1MDB funds.
The balance in the trust account will primarily be used to repay 1MDB and SRC’s remaining debts.
According to the ministry, the government has to date repaid RM12.4 billion of 1MDB’s debt and RM3.1 billion of SRC’s debt. The outstanding debt balance, composed of principal and coupon, profit and interest of bonds, sukuk and term loans, stands at RM39.8 billion for 1MDB and RM2.57 billion for SRC.
The government's current recovery efforts are focused on parties that have caused losses to 1MDB and SRC during the execution of their duties, whether through direct or indirect involvement in 1MDB and SRC’s various operations and transactions. – Bernama, November 19, 2021
