OFFSHORE companies linked to 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) that were used for siphoning off funds from the state investment firm are being repurposed to trace and recover the stolen money, Bloomberg reported today.

Three of the companies, based in the British Virgin Islands, are “overseen by administrators appointed by the Malaysian government”, the report said.

The three entities filed for bankruptcy in Florida earlier this week, stating that their aim now was to “recover a portion of the US$8.5 (RM35.9) billion allegedly stolen from 1MDB, some of which may be in the US”.

The particular bankruptcy law used in the filing will help the entities’ administrators obtain information from parties involved in the fraudulent deals and seize assets if they are located.

In their filing, the entities stated that they were “part of the fraud perpetrated against 1MDB”.

Some of them were “likely created solely to receive stolen funds or transfer them on to other entities,” Bloomberg said, quoting the document.

Among the various hands in the US that 1MDB funds could have passed through were investment managers, fund managers and other entities that provided services to those who engaged in the fraud.

Meanwhile, a US court is trying former Goldman Sachs banker, Malaysian Roger Ng, over charges of conspiracy with his former boss Tim Leissner, who has pleaded guilty, and fugitive Malaysian businessman Low Taek Jho, to defraud 1MDB.

Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Tengku Aziz said earlier this year that the balance in the trust account set up to collect recovered 1MDB funds had only enough to repay the principal amount of 1MDB debt for 2022.

In January, the ministry said Malaysia had so far recouped RM19.1 billion of 1MDB-related funds from various entities.

In March, Tengku Zafrul said a debt commitment of about RM38.8 billion, including RM6.5 billion interest, was still outstanding. – April 7, 2022.