By Danial Azhar
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Scandal-hit Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad said on Monday it has filed a legal claim worth more than $1 billion against business services provider Amicorp Group and its CEO, alleging that the company knowingly has facilitated more than $7 billion in fraudulent transactions. .
The claim, one of the largest filed by 1MDB in connection with the multibillion-dollar scandal, was filed in the British Virgin Islands against eight Amicorp entities and its Chief Executive Officer Toine Knipping, alleging that they played a crucial role in enabling of sovereign wealth. fund to be defrauded between 2009 and 2014, 1MDB said in a statement.
Amicorp Group did not immediately respond to an email request for comment and repeated phone calls.
Malaysian and US investigators had previously estimated that $4.5 billion was siphoned from 1MDB after its creation in 2009, involving former Prime Minister Najib Razak, Goldman Sachs (GS.N) staff and senior officials elsewhere. Najib is currently in prison but has denied wrongdoing.
1MDB alleges that Hong Kong-based Amicorp created and operated a complex conspiracy involving layers of shell companies, sham transactions and fraudulent financial structures that obscured the true origin and destination of the funds.
Stolen money is believed to have been routed through Singapore, Barbados, Curacao, Hong Kong and the British Virgin Islands, 1MDB said.
It is further alleged that Amicorp provided access to the global financial system through Amicorp Bank, a bank registered in Barbados, and provided fund entities and banking services to enable the repeated cycle of assets, thereby giving the impression that 1MDB’s assets had been invested and generated returns when in fact they were misused.
1MDB said it is seeking damages for losses it suffered from Amicorp’s “dishonest” assistance in breach of fiduciary duty and conspiracy to commit unlawful acts, adding that the legal action was part of a global effort to recover stolen 1MDB assets.
“There is, in our view, strong evidence that Amicorp – at the highest levels – knew they were involved in a dishonest and illegal money laundering scheme designed to siphon large sums of cash from its intended beneficiary – the people of Malaysia. a 1MDB spokesperson said in the statement.
Since September this year, Malaysia has recovered 27.17 billion ringgit ($6.06 billion) linked to 1MDB, state news agency Bernama reported.
($1 = 4.4870 ringgit)
(Reporting by Danial Azhar; Editing by Martin Petty and Michael Perry)
