1MDB money-laundering probe: Singapore seizes ‘large number’ of bank accounts
Financial authorities in Singapore say they are ‘actively investigating’ possible offences related to Malaysian state investment fund
Singapore has seized a large number of bank accounts in recent months as part of an investigation into possible money-laundering linked to Malaysian state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), authorities said on Monday.
Singapore is cooperating with authorities in Malaysia, Switzerland and the United States who are investigating 1MDB, said the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Commercial Affairs Department, the city-state’s white-collar crime agency.
“In connection with these investigations, we have sought and are continuing to seek information from several financial institutions, are interviewing various individuals, and have seized a large number of bank accounts,” the two agencies said in a joint statement.
“Since the middle of last year, the Commercial Affairs Department and the Monetary Authority of Singapore have been actively investigating possible money-laundering and other offences carried out in Singapore,” they said.
The statement did not offer any further details. In July, local police said they had only frozen two bank accounts linked to the 1MDB probe.
The statement comes a week after Switzerland’s chief prosecutor said a criminal investigation into 1MDB had revealed that about US$4 billion appeared to have been misappropriated from Malaysian state companies.
In a statement issued late on Monday, 1MDB said it had not been contacted by Singapore authorities.
