Dirty money

16 June 2017 By Una Galani Follow @ugalani

Cash from the Malaysian fund ended up in a yacht, art, and rights to the film “Dumb and Dumber To”, the DOJ claims. The charges are incredible. But authorities are unlikely to recoup much. And alas, the days of U.S. crusades against global financial crime look numbered.

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The U.S. Department of Justice on June 15 announced it would seek to recover a further $540 million in funds allegedly taken from disgraced Malaysian sovereign fund 1MDB.

It brings the total value of assets that the department is trying to seize to almost $1.7 billion, when combined with complaints filed in 2016. The DoJ now alleges more than $4.5 billion was diverted from 1MDB between 2009 and 2015.

Assets subject to forfeiture in the latest filing include a luxury yacht called the Equanimity, stock in Palantir and Flywheel, the rights to the films "Dumb and Dumber To" and "Daddy's Home", an 8.88 carat pink diamond, Pablo Picasso's painting "Nature Morte au Crane de Taureau", and a collage by Jean-Michel Basquiat.

Malaysia said it would fully cooperate with any lawful investigation but added, “we are concerned that again the DOJ has failed to seek such cooperation from the Malaysian government, or 1MDB”.

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