THE United States Department of Justice has recovered assets valued at more than $60 million (RM249 million) from Riza Aziz.

The DoJ reached a settlement of its civil forfeiture cases against assets acquired by Riza, the stepson of former prime minister Najib Razak, using funds embezzled from 1Malaysia Development Bhd. 

The funds were then laundered through financial institutions in several jurisdictions, including the US, Switzerland, Singapore and Luxembourg, the DoJ said in a statement yesterday.

In addition to being the largest civil forfeiture it has ever concluded, this is also the largest recovery made to date under the DoJ’s kleptocracy asset recovery initiative.

“With the conclusion of this settlement, together with the prior disposition of other related forfeiture cases, the United States will have recovered or assisted in the recovery of nearly US$1.1 billion in assets associated with the 1MDB international money laundering and bribery scheme,” it said.

Between 2009 and 2015, more than US$4.5 billion of 1MDB’s funds were allegedly misappropriated by high-level officials of the state fund and their associates.

The funds were laundered through financial institutions in several jurisdictions by Malaysian public officials and their associates, including Riza, it said.

Under the terms of the settlement, the claimants in the American forfeiture actions agreed to forfeit all assets subject to pending forfeiture complaints in which they have a potential interest. 

They are also required to cooperate and assist the department in the orderly transfer, management and disposition of the relevant assets. 

The proceeds from the sales  of high-end real estate acquired in Beverly Hills, a luxury condominium in New York City, Riza’s investment in a in a Kentucky maintenance company, a luxury London townhouse and a promotional poster for the 1927 motion picture film Metropolis are among the assets subject to the settlement agreement.

“The assets being forfeited subject to this settlement are in addition to the more than US$1 billion in assets previously forfeited in connection with the Department of Justice’s 1MDB investigation,” it said.

Following the conclusion of today’s settlement, several civil forfeiture complaints arising out of the 1MDB criminal conspiracy remain pending against assets associated with other alleged co-conspirators.

Acting assistant attorney-general Brian Rabbitt said Riza and his co-conspirators allegedly diverted these funds for their own benefit and used them to acquire luxury real estate in New York and London and to make personal investments. 

Meanwhile, the FBI’s criminal investigative division assistant director Calvin Shiver said the case represents significant, unwavering investigative work by the its international corruption team and partners

Shivers said the producer of the Wolf of Wall Street and his co-conspirators will not be permitted to profit as they had misappropriated and laundered billions from Malaysians for their personal gain.

Attorney-General Idrus Harun said in a statement in May that Riza’s lawyers from Messrs Scivetti & Associates said in a letter dated November 18, 2019 he will surrender his rights in three properties seized by the DoJ and return the assets or its value to the Malaysian government. 

Riza was granted a discharge not amounting to acquittal (DNAA) at the Sessions Court on five counts of money laundering involving US$248 million of 1MDB funds. – September 3, 2020.