SINGAPORE, Nov 14 — Putrajaya thanked Singapore for the republic’s action in the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) corruption scandal and its assistance in reclaiming money siphoned from the state investment firm.
In an interview with The Straits Times (ST), Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad stressed that Singapore was among the first jurisdictions that detected the alleged money laundering.
“Some people brought money belonging to 1MDB to Singapore and many people were paid out of money that was stolen,” he reportedly said.
“Singapore took action to arrest them, to charge them and all that, and also to return to us the money that has been stolen. That is cooperation that we appreciate.”
During a lunch hosted by his Singaporean counterpart, Lee Hsian Loong, on Monday, Dr Mahathir had thanked Singapore for helping Malaysia in a currency crisis.
The prime minister clarified to the Singaporean news outlet that he was referring to this assistance over 1MDB.
In September, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said he welcomed the move by the Singapore State Courts to return to Malaysia monies totalling S$15.3 million (RM45.9 million) that was misappropriated from 1MDB and SRC International Sdn Bhd.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore was the first to act against 1MDB-related offences, with two private banks shut down in 2016, and eight banks fined nearly S$30 million (RM90 million).
