MACC recovers more than RM23mil of 1MDB assets

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) says it recovered more than RM23mil of 1MDB assets from operations last year and most recently on Monday (Feb 5).

The cash and assets were recovered through forfeitures, including in the courts, as well as voluntary returns by five individuals to the government.

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"The success was from follow-up (operations) carried out by our Anti-Money Laundering Division," the MACC said in a statement on Thursday (Feb 8).

Among the recovered cash, it said, was RM556,000 returned on Aug 30 by a 1MDB officer who had received funds in the account of a company in which that individual held an interest.

"This money was obtained through an Account Release Order under Section 60 of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds from Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (AMLATFPUAA 2001)," it added.

On Sept 29, a further RM4.55mil was recovered from another individual through a transfer from BSI Bank Switzerland.

MACC said these recoveries were made possible through the February 2022 trial of former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng in the Brooklyn Federal Court in the United States on charges of complicity in the embezzlement of the 1MDB funds.

"On the whole, since 2019 to date, a total of RM29.03bil of 1MDB assets has been returned through the cooperation of MACC and the Special Task Force on 1MDB Asset Recovery as well as foreign agencies," the statement added.