Settlement Reached in LA to Recover $60M in Assets Bilked from Malaysian Fund
Settlement Reached in LA to Recover $60M in Assets Bilked from Malaysian Fund
by Contributing Editor
In a settlement negotiated in part by Los Angeles federal prosecutors, the Department of Justice Wednesday announced an agreement to recover more than $60 million in assets bilked from a Malaysian development fund, some of which was used to purchase high-end real estate in Beverly Hills.
With the settlement, together with the prior disposition of other related forfeiture cases, the United States will have recovered or assisted in the recovery of nearly $1.1 billion in assets associated with the 1Malaysia Development Berhad international money laundering and bribery scheme, in which a Hollywood producer allegedly played a key role.
It represents the largest civil forfeiture ever concluded by the DOJ.
“With more than $1 billion forfeited as a result of our 1MDB-related asset forfeiture cases, we continue to shed light on the massive fraud and money laundering scheme that brazenly stole public funds belonging to the people of Malaysia,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Hanna. “The high-end properties across the nation that have now been seized and forfeited demonstrate our commitment to preventing corrupt actors from using the United States as a place to hide stolen riches.”
The forteiture complaints allege that “The Wolf of Wall Street” producer Riza Aziz, stepson of former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, and others collectively laundered billions of dollars pilfered from 1MDB, an investment fund intended to benefit the Malaysian people.
“Aziz and his co-conspirators allegedly diverted these funds for their own benefit and used them to acquire luxury real estate in New York and London and to make personal investments,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian C. Rabbitt of DOJ’s Criminal Division.
“The forfeiture of these assets will add to the almost $1.1 billion stolen from 1MDB that the U.S. Department of Justice has so far helped recover and return to the Malaysian people,” he said. “This forfeiture sends a clear signal that the department will not allow wrongdoers to use the U.S. financial system to launder the proceeds of their illegal activity.”
According to the civil forfeiture complaints, from 2009 through 2015, more than $4.5 billion in funds belonging to 1MDB were misappropriated by high-level officials of 1MDB and their associates.
The funds allegedly were laundered through financial institutions in several jurisdictions by Malaysian public officials and their associates, including Aziz, who denied wrongdoing when detained in 2019 in Malaysia, where his stepfather — who was toppled from power in 2018 — and mother have both been charged with corruption.
According to the DOJ, 1MDB was created by the government of Malaysia to promote economic development in Malaysia through global partnerships and foreign direct investment, and its funds were intended to be used for improving the well-being of the Malaysian people.
Under the terms of the settlement, the claimants in the U.S. forfeiture actions agreed to forfeit all assets subject to pending forfeiture complaints in which they have a potential interest. Claimants are also required to cooperate and assist the Justice Department in the orderly transfer, management and disposition of the relevant assets.
The assets subject to the settlement agreement include the sale proceeds of high-end real estate acquired in Beverly Hills, as well as a luxury condominium in New York City; the sale proceeds of an investment made by Aziz in a Kentucky maintenance company; a luxury London townhome; and a promotional poster for the 1927 motion picture “Metropolis.”
The assets being forfeited subject to the settlement are in addition to more than $1 billion in assets the United States previously forfeited in connection with the DOJ’s 1MDB investigation. Several civil forfeiture complaints arising out of the 1MDB criminal conspiracy remain pending against assets associated with other alleged co-conspirators.
>> Want to read more stories like this? Get our Free Daily Newsletters Here!
All credit goes to Contributing Editor
Originally published on https://mynewsla.com
