Malaysia to investigate management of development company News
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Malaysia to investigate management of development company

The Malaysian government on Monday announced the creation of a special task force to look into whether there were criminal acts committed by the management of the 1 Malaysian Development Berhad (1MDB) [BBC report].

The task force is asked to identify and seize assets that were acquired from the illegal siphoning from the state fund.

Former prime minister Najib Razak created the fund in 2009 and was in charge of the government when the scandal first broke. Razak was defeated this past election by Mahathir Mohamed in an upset snap election on May 10 [BBC report].

The task force will consist of officials from law enforcement, an anti-graft agency and the Malaysian Central Bank. “This task force will also be responsible for seeking cooperation of various enforcement agencies in the United States, Switzerland, Singapore, Canada and other related countries,” Mohamed’s office said [Al Jazeera report] on Monday.

In his first week in office Mohamed ordered that Razak not be allowed to leave the country and granted a pardon [JURIST report] to former prime minister Anwar Ibrahim.