How Malaysia's 1MDB fund scandal reaches around the world

1Malaysia Development Bhd, the troubled Malaysian state fund that's the subject of global investigations, said it could be a victim of fraud if payments of $3.5 billion intended for an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund never made it there. Authorities from the US to Switzerland and Singapore are trying to determine if some of the billions of dollars that 1MDB raised were siphoned out inappropriately. 1MDB, whose advisory board is headed by Prime Minister Najib Razak, amassed more than 50 billion ringgit ($12.9 billion) of debt over six years, using some of it to buy energy assets, including joint ventures with companies in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi. Here is a look at how wide and deep the roots of the scandal might have penetrated.

Malaysia

Political donations to Najib

Najib has faced questions over $681 mn that appeared in his accounts before the 2013 election. He was cleared of any wrongdoing in January

Central bank found inaccurate disclosures

The central bank found inaccurate disclosures by 1MDB when it sought approvals for investments abroad. It also proposed criminal proceedings against the fund, which were dismissed by the attorney general.

Committee blames former 1MDB CEO

The Public Accounts Committee on April 7 found poor oversight of the fund by its board of directors and recommended investigations against former CEO

Singapore

Singapore is conducting a thorough review of possible money laundering related to 1MDB. In February, it seized "a large number" of bank accounts

Swiss suspect $4-bn fund misuse

Swiss authorities suspect money laundering and criminal mismanagement, reveal a small amount of funds were transferred to Swiss accounts of former Malaysian public officials

Finma in Contact With Four Banks

The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (Finma) is in contact with four banks over their possible involvement in the Malaysian matter

The Emirates Connection

The Swiss attorney general suspects money paid by 1MDB, intended for an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, benefited particularly two UAE public officials that the Swiss are investigating for fraud, and a company related to the film industry

The UK

The UK is said to be investigating 1MDB because of the involvement of UK banks, the International Business Times said in February

The US

1MDB Bond Proceeds

US prosecutors subpoenaed former Goldman Sachs banker Tim Leissner, who oversaw bond sales for 1MDB, about the Malaysian fund, said people familiar with the matter

Other Investigations

The Justice Department is investigating whether funds were embezzled from 1MDB by politically connected people in Malaysia. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is leading the probe and trying to determine if any US laws were broken

Australia

An Australian regulator has been pursuing Avestra Asset Management over corporate mismanagement and got a court to order several of its funds to be wound up, The Wall Street Journal reported. Court documents show Avestra is linked to Cayman Islands-based Bridge Global. 1MDB invested $2.3B of funds via the Bridge Global Absolute Return Fund SPC.

Thailand

The former employee of PetroSaudi, a company that was linked to 1MDB, is said to have stolen e-mails from his former employer and used the correspondence to extort money. Xavier Justo was sentenced to three years jail in August 2015

Luxembourg

In March, prosecutors in Luxembourg said they found "concrete clues" of embezzlement from companies owned by 1MDB via accounts in Singapore, Switzerland, and Luxembourg. (Read more)

The UAE

Two former executives of an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, which had dealings with 1MDB, were issued travel bans, The Wall Street Journal reported. They also had their personal assets frozen by the UAE central bank amid embezzlement allegations