Standard Chartered Plc is facing a US$2.7 billion lawsuit filed by liquidators in Singapore, who allege the bank facilitated the laundering of misappropriated funds linked to Malaysia’s scandal-hit sovereign wealth fund, 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
Legal proceedings have been initiated in Singapore, according to a statement released on Tuesday. The Financial Times first reported the development, noting that Standard Chartered had not yet received the claim documents at the time of publication.
The claimants assert that between 2009 and 2013, Standard Chartered permitted over 100 intrabank transfers which allegedly aided in concealing the flow of illicit funds. The transfers, according to the plaintiffs, resulted in losses exceeding US$2.7 billion and involved S$20 million in public funds.
In response to the allegations, Standard Chartered issued a statement to the Financial Times, emphatically denying any wrongdoing. The bank stated it “emphatically rejects any claims” brought forward by the 1MDB-linked entities. It also noted that the liquidators had previously acknowledged these companies were “shell companies with no legitimate business,” as reported by the FT.
The 1MDB affair has had wide-reaching consequences, previously implicating Goldman Sachs Group Inc and contributing to the imprisonment of former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.
In 2016, Singapore’s financial authorities imposed a S$5.2 million penalty on Standard Chartered for breaches of anti-money laundering regulations related to the 1MDB scandal. Several other financial institutions were also sanctioned in connection with the matter.
-Bloomberg
