Standard Chartered facing $2.7bn lawsuit linked to 1MDB scandal
By Abigail Townsend
Date: Tuesday 01 Jul 2025
(Sharecast News) - Standard Chartered is facing a $2.7bn lawsuit linked to the sprawling 1MDB scandal, it was confirmed on Tuesday.
The suit, which was filed in Singapore by liquidators Kroll, relates to the billions of dollars that were laundered after being siphoned from the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund.
It alleges that the UK-headquartered lender, which has a sizeable presence in Asia, failed to conduct necessary anti-money laundering checks.
Standard Chartered rejected the claims and said it would "vigorously" defend itself against any legal action.
Around $4.5bn is understood to have been stolen from 1 Malaysia Development Bhd between 2009 and 2014, in a vast, complex scheme spanning multiple countries.
Myriad banks and politicians have been caught up in the scandal, with at least six countries launching investigations since it came to light.
Kroll is representing three companies in liquidation linked to 1MDB. According to Reuters, they claim Standard Chartered permitted over 100 intraday transfers between 2009 and 2013, which helped conceal the flow of stolen funds.
In a statement, the liquidators said: "The transfers demonstrate serious breaches and control failings, which ultimately enabled the theft of public funds by people operating at the highest levels of the Malaysian government during that period."
Standard Chartered said it had yet to receive any legal documents.
It continued: "The liquidators who are making these claims have publicly stated that these companies were shell companies with no legitimate business and were linked to the fugitives Low Taek Jho and his associate Eric Tan.
"They operated under false pretences and acted as a conduit for funds misappropriated from 1MDB to launder monies.
"Any claims by these companies are without merit and Standard Chartered will vigorously defend any lawsuit."
Low has previously denied allegations against him, though he remains in hiding.
Following an investigation by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Standard Chartered was fined $4m in 2016 over anti-money laundering breaches.
Concerns about 1MDB first became public when it missed payments on some of the $11bn it owed to banks and bondholders in 2015.
Former prime minister Najib Razak, who sent up the fund in 2009, is currently serving six years in prison after being found guilty of embezzlement.
Former Goldman Sachs banker Tim Leissner was sentenced to two years in prison in New York earlier this year for his role in the fraud.
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