KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – The U.S. government has returned another $156 million to Malaysia in recovered assets linked to scandal-hit state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), bringing the total recovered so far to $1.4 billion , the US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur said. .
The funds were returned after the US Department of Justice approved a remission petition filed by the Malaysian government.
To date, US authorities have returned about $1.4 billion in funds misappropriated from 1MDB to Malaysia, the US Embassy said in a statement late Thursday.
“This extraordinary amount of money is being returned to the people of Malaysia, where it belongs and where it can finally be used for its original purpose—to improve the lives of everyday Malaysians,” U.S. Ambassador Edgard D. Kagan said in a statement.
Malaysia’s prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Malaysian and US investigators estimate that $4.5 billion has been siphoned from 1MDB since its creation in 2009, involving former Prime Minister Najib Razak, Goldman Sachs employees and senior officials in other countries.