KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has confirmed the recovery of an additional US$20mil related to 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) by US law enforcement.
The MACC said that the funds, which were tied to a solar energy project in Malaysia, were recovered following a collaboration with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the US Department of Justice (DOJ).
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In a statement on Thursday (Jan 23), MACC said the recovered funds involve Frank White Jr, a businessman and partner in the investment firm DuSable Capital Management LLC (DuSable).
"White Jr voluntarily agreed to surrender the funds to the DOJ after discovering that the money received by DuSable originated from misappropriated 1MDB funds, even though he was unaware of the source at the time of receiving the funds.
"We (MACC) and the Malaysian Government remain committed to continuing the recovery of assets linked to 1MDB.
"To date, a total of RM29.73bil has been returned to Malaysia's treasury.
"This does not include the USD20mil recently recovered through the efforts of MACC and the FBI," it further read.
MACC said it is actively pursuing the recovery of misappropriated assets from Kuwait, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and several European countries.
"These efforts will be further intensified through strategic cooperation with international partners to ensure that misused assets are returned for the benefit of the people and the nation," it said.
In June last year, the DOJ said it had recovered, returned, and assisted in returning approximately US$1.4bil (RM6.6bil) to Malaysia.
At the time, the US embassy said the sum represented the fourth instalment of funds recovered from asset seizures related to the scandal-plagued state investment arm.
Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is currently on trial for misappropriating around RM2bil from 1MDB.
