Malaysia's 1MDB in Settlement Talks With Deutsche Bank; Kuala Lumpur Hearing Set for October 26
KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia's state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) is in talks to settle a legal dispute with Deutsche Bank, Reuters reported on October 12, citing local media, as the country continues its efforts to recover billions of dollars in alleged losses from a corruption scandal.
Lim Chee Wee, a lawyer for 1MDB, told a court in a separate case on Monday that the fund was in talks with Deutsche on a proposed settlement, The Edge financial newspaper reported, without providing details of the dispute. Lim said he had already passed on details about the talks to the Kuala Lumpur High Court, according to the report. Malaysia's court website showed that the court was scheduled to hear 1MDB's lawsuit against Deutsche and others on Monday, October 26. Lim declined to comment when contacted by Reuters, and Deutsche Bank also declined to comment.
In 2021, 1MDB sued Deutsche Bank and several other financial organisations to recover billions in assets that it said were linked to misconduct related in the scandal. Deutsche said at the time that it was not aware of any basis for a legitimate claim against the bank.
The 1MDB scandal is one of the world's most closely watched financial cases. U.S. prosecutors have alleged that at least $4.5 billion was stolen from 1MDB, co-founded by former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, in a complex, globe-spanning scheme by high-level officials and their associates from 2009 to 2014. Malaysia has said billions more remain unaccounted for. Najib himself has been convicted in Malaysia in connection with the affair. Malaysia and 1MDB have since pursued asset recovery through lawsuits and settlements on several fronts; whether the talks with Deutsche Bank produce a settlement, and on what terms, has yet to be disclosed.
Source: Reuters, October 12, citing The Edge; Kuala Lumpur court schedule.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 吉隆坡法院大楼（吉隆坡高院所在地），Renek78 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0（Wikimedia Commons）
