DBS sued for US$1 billion in 1MDB-linked claim
DBS rejected the claim and said it would fight it vigorously, adding that the company has made no provision for the lawsuit.
A DBS company signage is seen on the bank's headquarters at the central business district in Singapore on Mar 14, 2025. (File photo: AFP/Roslan Rahman)
SINGAPORE: Liquidators of four companies linked to recovery efforts in the multibillion-dollar 1MDB scandal have sued DBS Bank, seeking an estimated S$1.298 billion (US$1.03 billion) in damages, Southeast Asia's largest lender DBS said on Wednesday (Sep 9).
The claimants include the liquidators of four companies: Blackrock Commodities (Global), Platinum Global Luxury Services, Affinity Equity International Partners and TKIL Global Investments. The liquidators confirmed to Reuters in an emailed statement that they had filed and served a damages claim of more than S$1 billion against DBS Bank.
Malaysian state fund 1MDB, or 1Malaysia Development Berhad, co-founded by then Prime Minister Najib Razak in 2009, was at the heart of a global corruption scandal in which US authorities said at least US$4.5 billion was misappropriated, sparking investigations and asset-recovery efforts worldwide.
In a statement to the Singapore Exchange, DBS rejected the claim and said it would fight it vigorously, adding that the company has made no provision for the lawsuit.
"It is a matter of public record that there have been global recovery efforts relating to 1Malaysia Development Berhad, supported by legal counsel since 2018. All this time, there was no claim against DBS," it said.
