This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on July 22, 2016.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia takes good governance seriously, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak after US prosecutors filed lawsuits linked to troubled state-owned fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), Reuters reported yesterday.

“It needs to be clear that this is a civil not criminal procedure,” Najib was quoted as telling reporters on the sidelines of an event in Kuala Lumpur.

“And we don’t want to come to any conclusions until that process is done. We have to establish the facts first. I want to say categorically that we are serious about good governance.”

Najib said the government would give its full cooperation to international investigations of the 1MDB case.

On Wednesday, US attorney-general Loretta E Lynch, accompanied by other top US officials, told reporters that the US Department of Justice (DoJ) had filed lawsuits on the same day to seize over US$1 billion (RM4.05 billion) in assets that it said were the result of US$3.5 billion that was misappropriated from 1MDB.

She said the US$1 billion in assets were just a portion of the money that was stolen from 1MDB and laundered to American institutions, in violation of the US law.

“The Department of Justice will not allow the American financial system to be used as a conduit for corruption. With this action, we are seeking to forfeit and recover funds that were intended to grow the Malaysian economy and support the Malaysian people.

“Instead, they were stolen, laundered through American financial institutions and used to enrich a few officials and their associates. Corrupt officials around the world should make no mistake that we will be relentless in our efforts to deny them the proceeds of their crimes,” Lynch was quoted as saying.

In response, Najib’s press secretary Datuk Seri Tengku Sariffuddin said this morning that the Malaysian government will fully cooperate with any lawful investigation of Malaysian companies or citizens in accordance with international protocols.

He said the 1MDB had been the subject of multiple investigations within Malaysia, including by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, the Auditor-General and bipartisan Public Accounts Committee.

“After comprehensive review, the Attorney-General found that that no crime was committed. 1MDB is still the subject of an investigation by the Royal Malaysian Police,” he said.

Tengku Sariffuddin said the government noted the US DoJ’s civil lawsuits brought against various assets, adding “as the Prime Minister has always maintained, if any wrongdoing is proven, the law will be enforced without exception”.

Meanwhile, 1MDB said in a separate statement yesterday that it is not a party to the civil suit, does not have any assets in the US, and has not benefited from the various transactions described in the civil suit.

It also said it had not been contacted by the US DoJ or any other foreign parties in relation to their investigations, adding it will cooperate with any foreign lawful authority to assist in the investigations.