KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 23): The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has recovered US$20 million (RM90 million) of misappropriated 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) funds related to a solar energy project in Malaysia with the help of US authorities.
The recovery was conducted via a joint operation between the Malaysian anti-graft body, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the US Department of Justice (US DOJ), according to the MACC’s statement on Thursday.
It said the funds are associated with Frank White Jr, a businessman and partner of investment firm DuSable Capital Management LLC partner. White Jr, according to the MACC, voluntarily agreed to return the funds to the DOJ after learning that the funds received by DuSable originated from sources linked to misappropriated 1MDB funds.
According to the MACC, White Jr was unaware of the fund’s origins when DuSable received them.
Prior to this recovery, RM29.73 billion of misappropriated 1MDB funds had been successfully repatriated to the government’s coffers, according to the MACC.
The MACC said it is actively working on recovering more misappropriated assets in Kuwait, Hong Kong, the UK, and several European countries.
“These efforts will be further intensified through strategic cooperation with international counterparts to ensure the recovery of misappropriated assets for the benefit of the people and nation,” it added.
DuSable’s time under 1MDB spotlight
DuSable came under the spotlight in Malaysia back in 2015, when PKR lawmaker Wong Chen expressed concern whether dealings between DuSable and 1MDB in the Yurus Private Equity Fund was done at arm's length, given that The Wall Street Journal at the time had named Aabar Investments PJS — a subsidiary of the International Petroleum Investment Company or IPIC — as the main investor in the Yurus PE Fund.
Wong highlighted that IPIC had, at the time, many dealings involving 1MDB, including guaranteeing two separate dollar-denominated bonds for 1MDB in deals arranged by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
1MDB’s dealings with DuSable then included a project to develop a 500MW solar power plant in Malaysia.
In a joint statement issued at the time by 1MDB and DuSable, the pair said 1MDB's wholly owned unit 1MDB Synergy Sdn Bhd and the Yurus PE Fund had signed a master joint-venture (JV) agreement in April 2014 to jointly develop the renewable energy project.
Under the agreement, 1MDB would have 51% stake in the JV to develop the solar project, with the Yurus PE Fund holding the other 49%. DuSable acted as the Yurus PE Fund's investment adviser in the deal. Then, in October that same year, 1MDB acquired the Yurus PE Fund's 49% stake in the JV for a final amount of US$69 million.
1MDB said the acquisition was part of its initial public offering plan for Edra Global Energy Bhd to take full control of the project.
Meanwhile, DuSable co-founder Pras Michel, a Grammy-winning rapper turned political influencer, was convicted in 2023 for conspiring with Low Taek Jho to illegally lobby the US government to drop corruption investigations into Jho Low, as the fugitive is commonly known.