This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on April 16, 2020

KUALA LUMPUR: The US has returned another US$300 million (RM1.3 billion) of funds recovered from seizures related to 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said yesterday.

Muhyiddin said the funds are an outcome of the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative of the US Department of Justice (DoJ) in relation to 1MDB.

He said in a statement that on Oct 30, 2019, fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low, reached a settlement with the DoJ pertaining to numerous forfeiture claims filed by the DoJ against assets he had purchased using 1MDB monies.

“The US$300 million represents some of those assets which had been forfeited and later sold. It also includes proceeds from 1MDB-linked assets that were given up or forfeited by individuals linked to Jho Low.”

“The government of Malaysia is pleased to share that thus far, inclusive of this most recent tranche of US$300 million, a total of US$620 million of 1MDB monies — in the form of sales proceeds or assets — have been returned to Malaysia. The process to sell Jho Low’s remaining forfeited assets under the DOJ consent forfeiture judgement is ongoing,” Muhyiddin said.

The US$620 million received since 1MDB assets recovery efforts were initiated in June 2018 consists of:

•     US$57 million from the proceeds of settlement with Red Granite Pictures (credited in March 2019),

•     US$137 million from the sale proceeds of Jho Low’s interest in the Park Lane Hotel (credited in April 2019),

•     US$126 million from the judicial sale of the luxury yacht, Equanimity, by the Malaysian Admiralty Court (credited into the trust account in December 2019), and

•     US$300 million (credited in April 2020) to Malaysia.

Expressing gratitude to the US government, in particular to its embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Muhyiddin said its assistance and cooperation in facilitating the return of the US$300 million is deeply appreciated.

“I would also like to commend Malaysia’s minister of finance and the attorney-general for their role in the negotiation process. 1MDB asset recovery efforts are ongoing, and the government will continue to work with the US, the DoJ and other governments to recover and repatriate more 1MDB monies in the future,” the prime minister said.

In a separate statement, Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Aziz said the recovery of 1MDB-related assets is still ongoing, and the finance ministry (MoF) will continue to extend its fullest cooperation to all domestic and offshore investigating entities to ensure equally positive outcomes from these efforts in future.

“I would like to convey our appreciation to the US government and the DoJ for their efforts in recovering these assets which rightfully belong to Malaysia.

“On behalf of the government, I would like to express our gratitude to the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur, and in particular, Her Excellency Ambassador Kamala Shirin Lakhdhir, with whom the MoF and the Attorney-General’s Chambers have been in constant contact in recent weeks,” he said.

“The deeply collaborative spirit of negotiations had facilitated the swift repatriation of the monies back to the Malaysian people. We would also like to acknowledge the support extended by our counterparts in various countries in helping Malaysia recover 1MDB-related assets,” Tengku Zafrul added.

Meanwhile, Ambassador Lakhdhir said the US is extremely pleased to continue transferring assets back to Malaysia as part of the DoJ investigation.

“Although the world is facing the Covid-19 pandemic, the US government made special efforts to ensure that the transfer was expedited during this challenging time,” she said in a statement.

“For more than 60 years, the US has been a close partner and friend to Malaysia and our cooperation in this investigation highlights our shared commitment to upholding good governance, combating official corruption and ensuring justice is served,” she added.

Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is on trial for 21 counts of money laundering involving a total of RM2.28 billion, and four counts of power abuse, in relation to the 1MDB funds.

His trial has been shelved temporarily due to the current movement control order arising from the Covid-19 outbreak.