Singapore court grants winding up bids for three entities linked to 1MDB scandal, liquidators say

Standard Chartered said in a statement that it would defend itself against the claims, adding that the three entities were shell companies used to siphon 1MDB funds.

“More than 13 years ago, these shell companies deceived the bank and abused its services by using their accounts to launder money misappropriated from 1MDB. We will vigorously defend against their attempts to now obtain from the bank the money they paid away,” it said.

The liquidators have said they were exploring workarounds after Singapore’s appeals court in March dismissed their bid to sue the banks for alleged fraud, upholding a lower court ruling.

Singapore’s High Court had dismissed the suit against Standard ‌Chartered ⁠and BSI in October last year, ruling that the country’s cross-border insolvency framework could not be applied to the case as the alleged transactions occurred before the law took effect in 2018.

US and Malaysian investigators say about US$4.5 billion was stolen from 1MDB between 2009 and 2014 in a complex scheme that has implicated a former prime minister, as well as high-level officials and top financial institutions around the world.