Singapore freezes 2 accounts linked to 1MDB probe

SINGAPORE/KUALA LUMPUR: Police in Singapore said on Wednesday they have frozen two bank accounts in connection with an investigation into alleged financial mismanagement and graft at Malaysia’s troubled state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
It was the first time accounts outside Malaysia had been frozen in connection with the investigation, which has left Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak facing his biggest crisis since he took office in 2009.
“On 15 July 2015, we issued orders under the Criminal Procedure Code to prohibit any dealings in respect of money in two bank accounts that are relevant to the investigation,” Singapore police said in a statement.
Police did not identify the banks or the accounts in question because the investigation is continuing.
A 1MDB spokesman declined to comment.
1MDB, a property-to-energy group whose advisory board is chaired by Najib, is facing criticism over its debt of nearly 42 billion ringgit ($11.09 billion) and alleged mishandling of its finances.
The freezing of the Singapore bank accounts follows a similar move in Malaysia where a task force investigating 1MDB said this month that it had frozen half a dozen bank accounts following a media report that millions of dollars had been transferred to accounts belonging to Najib.