KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia’s state fund 1MDB is in talks to settle a legal dispute with Deutsche Bank, local media reported on Monday, as the country continues its efforts to recover billions of dollars in alleged losses from a corruption scandal.
US prosecutors have alleged that at least $4.5 billion was stolen from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), co-founded by former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak, in a complex, globe-spanning scheme by high-level officials and their associates from 2009 to 2014. Malaysia has said billions more remain unaccounted for.
In 2021, 1MDB sued Deutsche and several other financial organizations to recover billions in assets that it said were linked to misconduct related to the scandal.
Deutsche said at the time that it was “not aware of any basis for a legitimate claim against Deutsche Bank.”
Lim Chee Wee, a lawyer for 1MDB, told a court in a separate case on Monday that the fund was in talks with Deutsche on a proposed settlement, The Edge financial newspaper reported, without providing details of the dispute.
Lim said he had already passed on details about the talks to the Kuala Lumpur High Court, according to the report.
Malaysia’s court website showed that the court was scheduled to hear 1MDB’s lawsuit against Deutsche and others on Oct. 26.
Lim declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.
In an emailed statement, Deutsche said: “We continue to feel strongly about our position in the case, which is supported by our particular fact pattern that is differentiated from other defendants, as well as recent developments in ongoing similar cases involving other parties.”
“Any potential settlement would need to take this into account,” it said.
