No confirmation RM5bil of SRC funds frozen by Swiss govt, Dewan Rakyat told

KUALA LUMPUR: The Attorney General's Chambers (AGC) has not received any confirmation that US$1.2bil (RM5.36bil) of SRC International Sdn Bhd funds have been frozen by the Swiss government, says Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.

“The government through 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) is, however, working to retrieve assets whether they are in Switzerland or other countries,” the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) added.

Azalina said this in a written reply to Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong (BN-Ayer Hitam) in the Dewan Rakyat on Monday (March 20).

Dr Wee had asked if the government planned to retrieve the SRC funds frozen by the Swiss government.

In 2021, it was reported that former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and the Finance Ministry had made efforts to investigate and retrieve SRC International’s funds that were frozen in Switzerland, according to Najib’s defence team.

Najib was later sentenced by the High Court to 12 years' jail and fined RM210mil for seven charges of criminal breach of trust, money laundering and abuse of power involving RM42mil of SRC's funds.

Earlier this year, Malaysia’s ambassador-designate to the United States Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz said among his top priorities was helping to reset Malaysia’s image there following the 1MDB scandal.