appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Reuters

Singapore’s High Court has dismissed a bid by foreign liquidators to sue Standard Chartered Bank and BSI Bank in the city state over transactions alleged to be linked to the scandal-hit Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1MDB, according to a judgment on Wednesday.
Representatives of the liquidators did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Standard Chartered said the bank welcomed the court’s decision.
Liquidators began legal proceedings against the London-headquartered bank in Singapore, according to a statement from July, with the claimants alleging Standard Chartered permitted more than 100 intrabank transfers between 2009 and 2013 that helped to conceal the flow of stolen funds.
Those transfers led to the loss of more than US$2.7 billion for the claimants, as well as S$20 million (US$15.5 million) in public funds, according to the liquidators.
US and Malaysian investigators say about US$4.5 billion was stolen from the 1Malaysia Development Berhad state fund between 2009 and 2014 in a complex, globe-spanning scheme.


Global investigations led to the imprisonment of ex-Goldman Sachs Group executives and former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak. Malaysian financier Jho Low is still a fugitive.
High Court judge Aidan Xu said the liquidators’ suit should be dismissed as Singapore’s cross-border insolvency framework could not be applied to the case, given that the alleged transactions took place before the law came into effect in 2018.
He acknowledged, though, that “the outcome does leave the applicants without easy recourse against the respondents, in respect of apparently dubious transactions”.
Singapore authorities had imposed a S$5.2 million fine against Standard Chartered in 2016 for anti-money laundering breaches related to the case. Other banks were also fined.
That same year, authorities also closed BSI’s unit in Singapore for breaches of money laundering rules and fined the firm for its failure to conduct due diligence on high-risk accounts and monitor suspicious customer transactions.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg


Malaysia pauses Najib’s pardon decision amid public backlash

Singapore’s DBS sued for US$1 billion in alleged 1MDB-linked claim

Malaysia’s ruling PH restates anti-corruption pledge as Najib’s potential pardon looms

Malaysian court acquits BN politician’s widow Zizie Izette after 7-year legal battle

Malaysia 1MDB scandal

Singapore court rejects US$2.7 billion 1MDB-linked suit against Standard Chartered, BSI

The Standard Chartered logo is seen on its office tower in Singapore’s Marina Bay Financial Centre. Photo: Harvey Kong

From Malaysia to Bangladesh, Asia’s dirty money finds a home in UK property

The City of London financial district in London, Britain. Photo: EPA

High-end luxury homes in London. US authorities estimate that US$340 million in UK property has been acquired with money stolen from Malaysia’s 1MDB fund. Photo: EPA

Marylebone High Street in London, England. The outward flow of capital from Malaysia into UK real estate is hardly new. Photo: Shutterstock 

Bangladeshi protesters climb a monument in Dhaka as they celebrate the news of Sheikh Hasina’s resignation last year. Photo: AP

Tourists walk along a beach in the Cayman Islands, one of five British overseas territories linked to money laundering by Transparency International. Photo: AP

Singapore money laundering: UBS, UOB, Citi among banks hit with US$22 million in penalties

Singapore bank notes seized during an anti-money laundering raid in Singapore in 2023. Photo: EPA-EFE

The Monetary Authority of Singapore has fined nine financial institutions a total of US$21.55 million over a US$2.36 billion money-laundering case. Photo: Reuters

Luxury watches seized during an anti-money laundering raid in Singapore in 2023. Photo: EPA-EFE 

Vehicles seized during an anti-money laundering raid in Singapore in 2023. Photo: EPA-EFE

Singapore has tightened its anti-money laundering regime and measures on the recovery of assets linked to unlawful proceeds in the past year. Photo: AFP

Malaysia’s Najib gets legal lifeline in house arrest bid over 1MDB sentence

A supporter of Najib Razak wears a T-shirt displaying the former prime minister’s face outside the Federal Court in Putrajaya, Malaysia, on Wednesday. Photo: EPA

Malaysia’s then king, Sultan Abdullah, speaks to the media during an interview at the National Palace in Kuala Lumpur last year. Photo: Reuters

Anti-government protesters carry a portrait of former prime minister Najib Razak during a rally in Kuala Lumpur last month calling for current Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to step down. Photo: EPA

Chasing Jho Low: blockchain bounty breathes new life into hunt for Malaysia’s 1MDB fugitive

An undated photo surfaced by the ‘WhereIsJho’ project and shared on social media shows Jho Low in Las Vegas in 2013 or 2014. Photo: X/whereisjho

A photo shared on social media advertising the $JHOLOW memecoin. Photo: X/whereisjho

Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak arrives at a court in Kuala Lumpur last year escorted by prison officers. Photo: AP

A photo surfaced by the project and shared on social media shows Jho Low with Leonardo DiCaprio. Photo: X/whereisjho

A social-media post from the project shows newly surfaced photos of Jho Low in Las Vegas, and as a golden statue. Photo: X/whereisjho

Dogecoin, which gained fame and soared in value with the backing of Elon Musk, is perhaps the best known memecoin. Photo: Shutterstock

Why is Malaysia’s 1MDB scandal still casting a long shadow over its economy?

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak gestures as he leaves the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) office in Putrajaya in 2018. Photo: AP

The 1MDB logo on a billboard at the funds flagship Tun Razak Exchange under-development site in Kuala Lumpur in 2015. Photo: AFP

Protesters in Kuala Lumpur hold portraits of Jho Low, the mastermind of the 1MDB scandal who is illustrated as a pirate in 2018. Photo: AP

The US$250 million vessel Equanimity owned by Jho Low, a former adviser to the Malaysian fund 1MDB, sits in waters off Tanjung Benoa in Bali. Photo: AFP

News

Asia

Southeast Asia

The judge dismissed the liquidators’ suit as the alleged transactions happened before Singapore’s cross-border insolvency law took effect


The judge dismissed the liquidators’ suit as the alleged transactions happened before Singapore’s cross-border insolvency law took effect.


Singapore court rejects US$2.7 billion 1MDB-linked suit against Standard Chartered, BSI

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The judge dismissed the liquidators’ suit as the alleged transactions happened before Singapore’s cross-border insolvency law took effect

The judge dismissed the liquidators’ suit as the alleged transactions happened before Singapore’s cross-border insolvency law took effect