Standard Chartered Bank (Singapore) has failed to strike out the US$2.7bn claim brought against it by the liquidators of the companies involved in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal.
Between 2009 and 2015 1MDB, a sovereign wealth fund, was defrauded of more than US$4.5b in an international money laundering scheme.
In June 2025, Kroll liquidators appointed on behalf of three companies – Alsen Chance, Blackstone Asia Real Estate Partners, and Brightstone Jewellery – alleged that Standard Chartered allowed over 100 intrabank transfers that concealed the stolen money, failing to comply with Singapore’s anti-money laundering regulations and client due diligence rules.
The claimants lost over US$2.7bn and SGD20m in public funds though the transfers, which included US$150m being transferred from Blackstone’s account directly to the personal bank account of Najib Razak, the former Prime Minister of Malaysia.
The Singapore High Court has now dismissed a subsequent application by Standard Chartered to quash the claim, allowing the case against Standard Chartered to proceed.
The liquidators of the claimants said: “We are pleased this application has been dismissed.
"This dismissal enables us to continue our efforts to hold financial institutions and individuals accountable who were involved in misappropriating money from 1MDB. It also enables us to continue the work of recovering misappropriated assets that rightfully belong to the people of Malaysia.”
