The claimants allege that Standard Chartered Bank permitted more than 100 intrabank transfers between 2009 and 2013 that helped to conceal the flow of stolen funds. Such transfers led to the loss of more than $2.7 billion for the claimants, as well as S$20 million ($15.7 million) in public funds, according to the liquidators’ statement.
The British bank added that the liquidators had publicly stated they were “shell companies with no legitimate business.” Standard Chartered had reported the transaction activities of the 1MDB companies, shut these accounts in 2013 and fully cooperated with the investigating authorities, the bank said.
The Financial Times reported the lawsuit earlier.
The 1MDB scandal was one of the biggest financial frauds in history, with stolen funds estimated to have exceeded $4 billion. Investigations led to the imprisonment of ex-Goldman Sachs Group executives and a former Malaysian prime minister. Malaysian financier Jho Low remains a fugitive.