Federal prosecutors are poised to launch one of the largest asset seizures in U.S. history as they step up their investigation into billions of dollars siphoned away from a Malaysian government investment fund, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Authorities are expected to file civil lawsuits today seeking to seize more than $1 billion worth of assets, which are expected to include properties and other assets purchased with money allegedly misappropriated from the Malaysian fund. The Wall Street Journal has reported that people linked to the fund have invested millions of dollars in real estate and businesses in the U.S. Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s international corruption unit have also been conducting a wide-ranging criminal investigation into people and institutions connected with 1Malaysia Development Bhd., known as 1MDB, a sovereign-wealth fund set up by Prime Minister Najib Razak in 2009 to drive the country’s economy.
