US investigation
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) is working to recover around $1.7bn (£1.3bn, €1.5bn) in assets linked to an international conspiracy to launder 1MDB funds.
Using fraudulent documents and representations, the co-conspirators allegedly laundered the funds through a series of complex transactions and shell companies with bank accounts located in the US and abroad.
These transactions served to conceal the origin, source and ownership of the funds, and ultimately passed through US financial institutions to then be used to acquire and invest in assets located in the US and overseas.
The money was then used to buy, among other things, a 300-foot luxury yacht valued at over $260m, certain movie rights, high-end properties, tens of millions of dollars worth of jewellery and artwork.
