(From Reuters)
The Seychelles is helping an international investigation into the troubled state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), the state’s Financial Intelligence Unit on the Indian Ocean archipelago said.
Transactions involving 1MDB, which has piled up $11 billion in debt, are at the center of corruption and money laundering investigations in jurisdictions that include the United States, Switzerland, Singapore, Luxembourg and the United Arab Emirates.
“The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has been assisting in an international investigation into allegations surrounding the strategic Malaysian fund called 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB),” the FIU said in a statement emailed to Reuters.
“Detailed information relating to offshore entities registered in Seychelles and other matters were passed to the competent authorities of investigating states,” it said.
The statement was sent to Reuters by Seychelles president’s office on behalf of the FIU. It is the first public acknowledgement that Seychelles has joined the widening investigation into 1MDB, whose advisory board is chaired by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak. Read more