Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on July 1, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Standard Chartered Bank is sued for $2.7 billion in Singapore over its alleged role in the 1MDB fraud, involving over 100 suspicious transfers.
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) -Liquidators seeking to recoup misappropriated funds from Malaysia's sovereign wealth fund 1MDB have filed legal proceedings against Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore over the bank's alleged role in enabling fraud that led to over $2.7 billion in financial losses.
The move is the latest in a wide-ranging effort to recover money belonging to 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), from which U.S. investigators say about $4.5 billion was stolen in a complex, globe-spanning scheme.
Liquidators from financial services firm Kroll, which filed the lawsuit in the High Court of Singapore, said they were seeking to hold Standard Chartered accountable for its role in allegedly enabling fraud to be committed against 1MDB.
Three companies in liquidation linked to 1MDB say Standard Chartered permitted over 100 intrabank transfers between 2009 and 2013 that helped conceal the flow of stolen funds.
They also allege the bank chose to overlook obvious red flags in relation to the transfer of funds, resulting in the losses, the liquidators said.
"According to this lawsuit, the transfers demonstrate serious breaches and control failings which ultimately enabled the theft of public funds by people operating at the highest levels of the Malaysian government during that period," the liquidators said.
(Reporting by Rozanna Latiff; Editing by David Stanway)
Liquidators have filed a lawsuit against Standard Chartered Bank for $2.7 billion.
The lawsuit aims to recoup misappropriated funds from Malaysia's sovereign wealth fund 1MDB.
The lawsuit was filed by liquidators from financial services firm Kroll in the High Court of Singapore.
The allegations include permitting over 100 intrabank transfers that helped conceal the flow of stolen funds.
The liquidators claimed that Standard Chartered chose to overlook obvious red flags related to the transfer of funds.
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