JPMorgan To Pay $330 Million To Malaysia To Settle 1MDB Claim
It comes as Switzerland’s Attorney General announced it had fined JPMorgan’s Swiss unit $3.7 million for its part in enabling the laundering of funds misappropriated from 1MDB.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. will pay 1.4 billion ringgit ($330 million) to Malaysia to resolve all existing and potential claims relating to the sovereign wealth fund 1MDB, a move that will end its exposure to one of the biggest financial frauds in history.
Under the settlement, the lender will — “without admission of liability” — contribute the sum to Malaysia’s Assets Recovery Trust Account, according to an emailed statement Friday. The agreement “resolves all existing and potential claims and binds both parties from any future claims or litigations related to 1MDB.”
It comes as Switzerland’s Attorney General announced it had fined JPMorgan’s Swiss unit 3 million Swiss francs ($3.7 million) for its part in enabling the laundering of funds misappropriated from 1MDB.
The Attorney General’s office sentenced the bank “for failing to take all reasonable and necessary organizational measures to prevent acts of aggravated money laundering.” The fine relates to payments including 34 overseas transfers for a total of around 174 million francs that took place between October 2014 and July 2015, the Swiss authorities said.
For the past decade, the 1Malaysia Development Bhd investment fund has been at the center of a scandal that spawned probes across continents, with stolen funds estimated to have exceeded $4 billion. Investigations led to the imprisonment of ex-Goldman Sachs Group Inc. executives and a former Malaysian prime minister. Malaysian financier Jho Low remains a fugitive.
“We appreciate the collaboration with the Malaysian Government in resolving past matters related to 1MDB, which have been thoroughly reviewed,” JPMorgan said in a statement. “Since then, we’ve enhanced our controls.”
