1MDB scandal

The 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal, often referred to as the 1MDB scandal or just 1MDB, is a corruption, bribery and money laundering conspiracy in which the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) was systematically embezzled, with assets diverted globally by the perpetrators of the scheme. As of 2026, legal proceedings and asset recovery efforts are still ongoing. Although it began in 2009 in Malaysia, the scandal's global scope implicated institutions and individuals in politics, banking, and entertainment, and led to criminal investigations in a number of nations. The 1MDB scandal has been described as "one of the world's greatest financial scandals" and declared by the United States Department of Justice as the "largest kleptocracy case to date" in 2016. A 2015 document leak reported in The Edge, Sarawak Report, and The Wall Street Journal showed that Malaysia's then-Prime Minister Najib Razak had channeled over RM 2.67 billion (about US$700 million) into his personal bank accounts from 1MDB, a government-run strategic development company. The alleged mastermind of the scheme, Jho Low, was central in the movement of 1MDB funds internationally through shell companies and offshore bank accounts. As of 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice found that Low and other conspirators including officials from Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates diverted more than US$4.5 billion from 1MDB. In September 2020, the alleged amount stolen from 1MDB was estimated to be US$4.5 billion and a Malaysian government report listed 1MDB's outstanding debts to be at US$7.8 billion. The government has assumed 1MDB's debts, which include 30-year bonds due in 2039. In August 2021, the United States recovered and returned a total of US$1.2 billion of 1MDB funds misappropriated within its jurisdiction, joining countries such as Singapore and several others that have also initiated recovery or that have already...