The Swiss state prosecution office has widened its investigation into allegations of corruption at Malaysia state fund 1MDB. It is looking into the actions of two officials of PetroSaudi.
The attorney general’s office opened the investigation against the two PetroSaudi staff at the end of 2017 but didn’t disclose the news due to the nature of the measures taken and because of a risk of collusion, «Bloomberg» said in a report on Tuesday.
The action by the Swiss is but the latest in a string of investigations by Swiss, U.S. and Singaporean authorities into activities linked to the fund. Managers at 1MDB and associates stand accused of syphoning off hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars instead of investing the money.
Prime Minister Dealings
Some of the money – a figure of $681 million has repeatedly been mentioned – allegedly ended up in the coffers of Prime Minister Najib Razak who stands for reelection in a week from now, on May 9.
The implication of the Saudi oil producer came through a joint venture with 1MDB. The fund pretended to invest $1 billion through the joint venture, while instead transferring $700 million to an account not linked to PetroSaudi, according to the U.S. authorities investigating the deal.
PetroSaudi Statement
Lawyers acting on behalf of PetroSaudi told «Bloomberg» that the firm wasn’t subject of an investigation and that it was cooperating with authorities.
