Singapore's High Court Rejects Foreign Liquidators' 1MDB Suit

The Singapore High Court has dismissed foreign liquidators' attempt to take legal action against Standard Chartered Bank and BSI Bank due to transactions related to the Malaysian 1MDB scandal. The court noted that Singapore's cross-border insolvency framework did not apply, as the transactions occurred before its introduction in 2018.

Singapore's High Court has ruled against foreign liquidators seeking legal action against Standard Chartered Bank and BSI Bank. These transactions were allegedly linked to the scandal involving Malaysia's 1MDB sovereign wealth fund, according to a judgment issued on Wednesday.

Efforts to reach representatives of the liquidators for comment were unsuccessful. The liquidators claimed Standard Chartered's involvement facilitated fraud, resulting in over $2.7 billion in financial losses more than a decade ago.

Investigators from the U.S. and Malaysia indicate that approximately $4.5 billion was illicitly siphoned from the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) between 2009 and 2014 in a global scheme. However, Singapore High Court judge Aidan Xu dismissed the suit, citing the country's cross-border insolvency framework's inapplicability, as the specified transactions happened before the framework's 2018 introduction.

(With inputs from agencies.)