Scandal-hit Malaysian state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) said on Monday it has filed a legal claim of more than US$1 billion against corporate services provider Amicorp Group and its CEO, alleging the firm knowingly facilitated over US$7 billion in fraudulent transactions.
The claim, among one of the biggest filed by 1MDB related to the multibillion dollar graft scandal, was filed in the British Virgin Islands against eight Amicorp entities and its Chief Executive Officer Toine Knipping, alleging that they played a vital role in enabling the sovereign wealth fund to be defrauded between 2009 and 2014, 1MDB said in a statement.
Amicorp Group did not immediately respond to request for comment.
Malaysian and US investigators had previously estimated US$4.5 billion was siphoned away from 1MDB following its inception in 2009, implicating former Prime Minister Najib Razak, Goldman Sachs staff and high-level officials elsewhere. Najib is currently in prison but has denied wrongdoing.
1MDB alleges Hong Kong-headquartered Amicorp created and managed a complex conspiracy consisting of layers of shell companies, sham transactions, and fraudulent financial structures that obscured the true origin and destination of the funds.