Scandal-hit Malaysian state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad said on Monday it has filed a legal claim of more than $1 billion against corporate services provider Amicorp Group and its CEO, alleging the firm knowingly facilitated over $7 billion in fraudulent transactions.
The claim, among one of the biggest filed by 1MDB related to the multibillion dollar graft scandal, was filed in the British Virgin Islands against eight Amicorp entities and its Chief Executive Officer Toine Knipping, alleging that they played a vital role in enabling the sovereign wealth fund to be defrauded between 2009 and 2014, 1MDB said in a statement.
Amicorp Group did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment and repeated phone calls.
Malaysian and U.S. investigators had previously estimated $4.5 billion was siphoned away from 1MDB following its inception in 2009, implicating former Prime Minister Najib Razak, Goldman Sachs staff and high-level officials elsewhere. Najib is currently in prison but has denied wrongdoing.
The scandal which emerged in 2015 and became one of the largest financial frauds in history. It was revealed that large sums of money, estimated at billions of dollars, were misappropriated from the fund. The funds were allegedly siphoned off through a network of shell companies, intermediaries, and individuals linked to high-profile figures, including officials and bankers.
The funds were used for extravagant personal expenses, luxury assets (such as real estate, artwork, and jewelry), and political contributions. The scandal has involved many international investigations, with multiple countries pursuing legal action related to the embezzlement.
1MDB alleges Hong Kong-headquartered Amicorp created and managed a complex conspiracy consisting of layers of shell companies, sham transactions, and fraudulent financial structures that obscured the true origin and destination of the funds.
Stolen funds were purportedly routed through Singapore, Barbados, Curacao, Hong Kong, and the British Virgin Islands, 1MDB said.
It further allege Amicorp provided access to the global financial system through Amicorp Bank, a bank registered in Barbados, and provided fund entities and banking services to allow the repeated cycling of assets, giving the impression that 1MDB’s assets had been invested and generated returns when in fact they had been misappropriated.
1MDB said it is seeking damages for the losses it incurred from Amicorp’s “dishonest” assistance in breaches of fiduciary duty and conspiracy to commit unlawful acts, adding the legal action was part of a global effort to recover stolen 1MDB assets.
“There is, in our view, strong evidence to suggest that Amicorp – at the highest levels – knew they were involved in a dishonest and illegal money laundering scheme designed to transfer large sums of cash away from its intended beneficiary – the people of Malaysia,” a spokesperson for 1MDB said in the statement.
The 1MDB case led to a global outcry, major legal battles, and political consequences for Najib Razak, who was charged with corruption and money laundering in Malaysia and was convicted in 2020. The scandal has had significant political and economic repercussions, shaking the trust in Malaysia’s governance and financial institutions. One of the central characters of the 1MDB scandal, businessman Jho Low (Low Taek Jho), even after 9 years, remains a fugitive and at large.
