The scandal: What we know so far HOW 1MDB FELL APART State fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) was set up nearly a billions in debt in just a handful of years. By mid-2014, 1MDB’s debt 2009 decade ago gleaming with promise, as Malaysia’s leaders — chief among stood at a crippling RM42 billion. And today, the state fund is • The Terengganu Investment them then Prime Minister Najib Razak, the fund’s staunchest champion accused of being an elaborate international scam that saw around Authority, started in 2008, is — lauded it as a key initiative to expand the country’s wealth through US$4.5 billion (S$6 billion) end up in the pockets of high-level converted from an investment vehicle for the development of the strategic investments. The shine soon wore off, as the fund racked up ofcials at the helm, and their collaborators. oil-rich Malaysian state to a national Finance Ministry company named 1MDB. It announces a controversial US$2.5 billion joint-venture deal with Saudi oil rm PetroSaudi, which critics say was a front to siphon public funds. Najib Razak Low Taek Jho • The opposition painted Mr Najib • Better known as Jho Low (left), (right) as the fund’s biggest he has denied involvement in 1MDB, 2012 to 2013 beneciary, branding the then Prime but the US Department of Justice • 1MDB begins buying up power Minister — who was also Finance (DOJ) pinpointed him as the man who plants, racking up about RM18 Minister, and the head of 1MDB’s controlled ows of money out of the billion in debt. Analysts believe the advisory panel until 2016 — fund to bank accounts around the rm paid too much for the ageing a kleptocrat in the recent general world. His current whereabouts are generators. election. The fallen premier was unclear but Malaysia’s Inland Revenue questioned for more than 10 hours on Board was last week asked to May 22 and 24 by Malaysia’s anti-graft investigate Mr Low and his family in 2014 agency on SRC International, a former relation to 1MDB. • The company accumulates 1MDB unit which allegedly transferred RM41.8 billion in debt. It struggles RM42 million (S$14.2 million) into to meet nancing obligations and Mr Najib’s personal accounts. fails to meet a year-end deadline to pay a RM2 billion loan. Rosmah Mansor Riza Aziz 2015 • Mr Najib’s impeccably dressed wife • The DOJ said Mr Riza – the eldest • 1MDB requires the help of several has also become the target of son of Mr Najib’s wife Rosmah from a local rms to renance its debt in attacks for her allegedly exorbitant previous marriage – co-founded Red February 2015. And, among other lifestyle. She surfaced in the 1MDB Granite Pictures which funded the moves to trim debt, it sells its probe too, with the DOJ claiming that Martin Scorsese lm The Wolf Of Wall power plant unit Edra Global she was gifted nearly US$30 million Street using 1MDB cash. The rm has Energy to a Chinese company for of jewellery, including a rare pink denied that its funds were obtained RM17.3 billion. Abu Dhabi’s wealth diamond necklace, bought using illegitimately. fund International Petroleum stolen funds. Investment Company provides 1MDB with US$1 billion cash to help repay a US$975 million loan. • This is also the year allegations HIGH-ROLLERS AND WHISTLE-BLOWERS of graft come to light, with claims surfacing in the media that US$700 million linked to 1MDB was Apandi Ali and Abdul Gani Patail deposited in PM Najib’s personal • Mr Najib’s ouster has changed the fates of accounts. The United States these two men. launches a probe into 1MDB in September. • In July 2015, Tan Sri Abdul Gani (right) – who was then heading a task force investigating money-laundering allegations at 1MDB – was retired as attorney-general due to what the government said then were “health problems”. Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said in recent weeks that Mr Abdul Gani had prepared Khadem al-Qubaisi Arul Kanda Kandasamy a charge sheet against Mr Najib in 2015, before he was promptly placed on early retirement. and Mohamed Badawy al-Husseiny • The former chief investment banker in Abu • Tan Sri Apandi Ali (right) stepped in as the • The two former Abu Dhabi ofcials have new Attorney-General, and in January 2016 been investigated by Swiss and US Dhabi signed up to be 1MDB’s chief executive in cleared Mr Najib of any wrongdoing after a prosecutors looking into 1MDB, and are probe into the nearly US$700 million that suspected of having aided in and beneted January 2015 to help x the beleaguered fund’s appeared in the then Prime Minister’s personal 2016 to 2017 from the misappropriation of public funds. accounts. It was, said Mr Apandi, a donation US prosecutors detail a Mr Qubaisi (above left) was the former staggering debt. But he • soon found himself caught from the Saudi Arabian royal family. multibillion-dollar trail of fraud managing director of International Petroleum from 2009 to 2015 that saw public Investment Co (IPIC) – one of Abu Dhabi’s in a political maelstrom, • Now, Mr Apandi is on the way out, placed on fending off allegations of forced leave by the new administration. funds allegedly splurged on Monet largest sovereign wealth funds, which has (above) and van Gogh paintings, close business links to 1MDB – while Mr fraud and graft relating to Mr Abdul Gani, meanwhile, will co-lead a new the fund. Things got task force focused on reviving probes into and luxury real estate in the US Husseiny was chief executive of IPIC’s unit (below) and Britain. Aabar Investments PJS. personal last month, when 1MDB. newly minted Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng branded the fund’s chief “utterly dishonest and untrustworthy”. The Tun Razak Exchange development, a 1MDB project, in Kuala Lumpur. • Mr Najib was not named in the legal lings, which instead referred Xavier Andre Justo to a “Malaysian Ofcial 1” who had and Clare Rewcastle-Brown pocketed US$681 million. Then • The duo played a key role in Malaysian Cabinet minister Abdul bringing 1MDB’s woes to light. Rahman Dahlan later conrms that Justo, a former director at Mr Najib was indeed Malaysian PetroSaudi International, is Ofcial 1. believed to have shared • Attorney-General Apandi says his information on the Saudi oil investigations found the millions rm’s aborted venture with deposited Mr Najib’s account were 1MDB with Sarawak Report a gift from a royal family in Saudi editor Rewcastle-Brown, whose Arabia, with no wrongdoing site claimed in 2015 that nearly committed. US$700 million was funnelled into Mr Najib’s bank account. 2018 • Malaysia’s new government after winning the May 9 polls, vows to return billions of dollars of public funds lost, with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the new Prime Minister, declaring he is condent prosecutors would soon have a strong case to bring charges against Mr Najib. NEAR AND FAR The 1MDB saga has had global consequences, as countries near and far nd themselves tangled up in the controversy. Authorities in at least six places, including Singapore and Hong Kong, have launched investigations into the fund and individuals and companies linked to it. • The developments include US Switzerland Singapore Luxembourg Hong Kong Indonesia forming a special 1MDB task force • Its Department of Justice • Switzerland had in 2016 • The Monetary Authority of • In 2016, prosecutors in • Hong Kong police in 2015 • Indonesia too got caught that holds meetings (above) to look (DOJ) helped catapult the asked Malaysia to aid in a Singapore (MAS) imposed Luxembourg said they opened investigations into up in the 1MDB fallout, when into matters concerning the fund 1MDB scandal into the probe into the alleged millions in nes on several found “concrete clues” of bank deposits allegedly authorities, as part of a joint and raids on properties linked to international spotlight when misappropriation of US$4 banks here after it was embezzlement from linked to Mr Najib after operation with the FBI, this Mr Najib and his family which have it opened its probe into the billion linked to 1MDB. It said found that accounts at companies owned by 1MDB former Umno member year seized the Equanimity, turned up at least RM114 million in beleaguered state fund and some funds had been Singapore-based banks had via accounts in Singapore, Khairuddin Abu Hassan Mr Low’s US$250 million cash and over 400 high-end laid out details of lavish transferred to Swiss been used to funnel illicit Switzerland, and lodged a police report yacht in Bali. The seizure of handbags. spending sprees and accounts belonging to funds. Four people have Luxembourg. claiming that deposits of the yacht, which was • In recent weeks, Finance Minister complex money-laundering former Malaysian public been jailed and two more than US$250 million supposedly bought with Lim Guan Eng said, contrary to Mr operations involving public ofcials. The Swiss investment banks shut were made into a Credit siphoned public funds, was Najib’s claims that there was no fund. Last month, a special attorney-general’s ofce down over their role in the Suisse bank account in later ruled invalid and 1MDB bailout by the previous Malaysian task force set up said last month that its alleged laundering of Hong Kong through four without legal basis. government, his ministry had paid to look into the 1MDB federal prosecutors are billions of dollars. Last week, companies linked to RM7 billion to service the troubled scandal met ofcers from seeking quick talks with Singapore investigators Mr Najib.