SINGAPORE: Singapore investigators are in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur to help authorities with an investigation into scandal-plagued state fund 1MDB, Singapore police said on Thursday, as the country鈥檚 new government steps up efforts to tackle graft.
At least six countries, including the United States and Switzerland, are investigating claims that $4.5 billion was siphoned out of the fund, 1Malaysia Development Berhad, founded by former Prime Minister Najib Razak.
鈥淥ur Malaysian counterparts have requested for our assistance in relation to their 1MDB-related investigations, and we agreed to a meeting in Kuala Lumpur,鈥� a Singapore police spokeswoman told Reuters in an email.
She gave no details of the assistance sought.
The news comes a week after Malaysian officials met officers of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the US Department of Justice (DOJ), which refers to Najib as 鈥淢alaysian Official Number 1鈥� in an anti-kleptocracy investigation of 1MDB.
Najib has denied any wrongdoing and said in 2016 that the Malaysian government would cooperate with US investigations.
Singapore has taken action against several banks and bank officials for failures of money-laundering controls over transactions related to 1MDB, including the closure of units of BSI Bank and Falcon Bank.
Malaysia鈥檚 newly-elected Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has vowed to investigate the 1MDB scandal and act against those who may have abetted, or benefited from, corruption at the fund.
Mahathir, who defeated Najib, a former prot茅g茅 turned political opponent, in the historic May 9 elections, immediately reopened 1MDB investigations and barred the former leader from leaving the country.
The former prime minister went to Malaysia鈥檚 anti-graft agency to give a statement explaining what he knew about $10.6 million transferred into his bank account from the fund.
Last week, Malaysia鈥檚 finance minister said funds from deals with the central bank and sovereign wealth fund Khazanah were used by the previous government to meet some liabilities of the troubled state fund.
Malaysian police said they seized cash worth 114 million ringgits ($29 million) and more than 400 luxury handbags from Najib鈥檚 home and his son鈥檚 apartments as part of the investigation.