KUALA LUMPUR — Former finance minister Lim Guan Eng wants Putrajaya to explain how it will recover the US$248 million allegedly siphoned by Riza Shahriz Abdul Aziz following 1Malaysia Development Bhd’s (1MDB) move to withdraw its civil suit against him and two Hollywood film production companies.
Lim, who is also DAP chairman, said the matter was of public interest and the government should give a “full accounting onhow Malaysians will get the US$248 million back” from former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s stepson.
“MACC had previously said that Riza and his lawyers are working towards a global settlement on the recovery of the US$248 million.
“However no details have been disclosed as to how such a recovery would be conducted,” Lim said in a statement today.
In the Kuala Lumpur High Court yesterday, 1MDB withdrew its suit against Riza Shahriz, Red Granite Pictures Inc and Red Granite Capital Ltd.
1MDB filed the suit in May 2021 against the three defendants over US$248 million allegedly misappropriated and misused for their personal gain, including financing a film production and purchasing various properties.
The settlement referred to by Lim was mentioned by a lawyer for Riza Shahriz, Muhammad Farhan Muhammad Shafee, who told reporters yesterday outside the court that 1MDB’s withdrawal followed testimony from the defendants’ witness, a Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission officer, who told the court of a representation submitted to the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) about a global settlement for the case.
The settlement in Malaysia between Riza Shahriz and the AGC in May 2020 would see the Malaysian government receiving a substantial sum amounting to millions of ringgit.
On May 14, 2020, the Kuala Lumpur Sessions court granted Riza Shahriz a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) on five charges of laundering US$248 million (RM1.25 billion) which were allegedly misappropriated from 1MDB funds.
The criminal charges were under the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act 2001. The charges alleged that the Hollywood producer had transferred the funds to the two accounts of his film production company Red Granite.
Following his DNAA in May 2020, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced in September that it had recovered more than US$60 million (RM248.55 million) after reaching a settlement of its civil forfeiture cases against assets acquired by Riza Shahriz.
The DOJ said the funds had been laundered through financial institutions in several jurisdictions, including the United States (US), Switzerland, Singapore and Luxembourg.
It also said the funds had been washed through high-end properties in Beverly Hills, New York City and London. – February 25, 2025