Multibillion-dollar scandal forces Malaysia to freeze 400 bank accounts
Kuala Lumpur — Malaysia has frozen more than 400 bank accounts as part of a probe into a multibillion-dollar scandal at state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), a task force said on Monday, as the stepson of former prime minister Najib Razak was summoned for questioning. Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who ousted Najib in a shock election upset in May, has reopened investigations into 1MDB and vowed to recoup money allegedly siphoned from the fund. A task force looking into the fund said 408 bank accounts involving funds of about 1.1-billion ringgit ($272.4m) had been frozen. The frozen accounts included those of 81 individuals and 55 companies believed to have received funds from 1MDB and involved nearly 900 transactions between March 2011 and September 2015. "The accounts were believed to be linked to the misappropriation and misuse of 1MDB funds," the task force said. The task force had said earlier that it had frozen accounts belonging to the United Malays National Organ...
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