A Malaysian opposition politician is attempting to sue the Australian and New Zealand Banking Group for over $900 million allegedly “stolen” from a Malaysian state investment fund.
Zaid Ibrahim from the opposition Democratic Action Party said in a post on his blog on Monday he had instructed Sydney-based law firm Levitt Robinson Solicitors to "explore the possibility" of suing ANZ.
"ANZ was responsible, either directly or indirectly, for the laundering of money that belongs to the people of this country,” Mr Ibrahim said in his blog.
The $900 million figure relates to the money deposited into the bank account of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak between 2011 and 2013.
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It is alleged the money was siphoned off from a state investment fund named 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and deposited into the prime minister's personal accounts.
ANZ has repeatedly denied any involvement in the 2011-2013 corruption scandal with CEO Shayne Elliott telling an Australian parliamentary inquiry in October 2016: “No employees of ANZ have had any involvement in that company (1MDB) or what has alleged to have happened at AmBank".
An ANZ spokesman told SBS News on Monday they were unable to comment as they have yet to be served with anything.
Levitt Robinson Solicitors were unable to confirm whether they were taking the case.
Mr Najib has consistently denied all previous allegations of wrongdoing and says the money in his accounts were donations from the Saudi royal family.
The prime minister’s bank accounts were held with the Malaysian bank AmBank, where ANZ is the single largest shareholder with a 24 per cent stake.
That share gives ANZ the right to appoint up to four representatives on the 12-seat AmBank board as well as install staffers into key positions such as Chief Risk Officer and Chief Financial Officer.
revealed ANZ senior officials sitting on the AmBank board were aware of the suspicious transactions going into Mr Najib's accounts as early as September 2014 when the full board was briefed on the transactions.
After investigating allegations, Malaysia’s Attorney-General Apandi Ali in January 2016 cleared Mr Najib of any wrongdoing in relation to the scandal.
Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak. Source: AAP
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Several countries around the world, including Switzerland, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States, continued their probes into corruption and money laundering linked to the fund.
In July 2016 the US Department of Justice announced the move to seize more than $1.3 billion in assets allegedly siphoned from 1MDB.
It was the largest-ever seizure by the US Department’s Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative and assets seized include luxury boats, apartments and the rights to Oscar-nominated film 'The Wolf of Wall Street', which was funded by Mr Najib’s stepson, Riza Aziz.
Malaysians are set to head to the polls on 9 May on what is expected to be a tight contest and the first major electoral test of Mr Najib since the corruption scandal emerged.
Malaysia has not had a change in ruling government for 61 years since Independence.
