As part of the proceedings initiated on 14 August 2015 criminal proceedings against two former directors and officers of the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1MDB (1Malaysia Development Berhad) and Unknown for bribery of foreign public officials (Art. 322septies Criminal Code), unfaithful administration (Article 314 of the Criminal Code.) , money laundering (Art. 305 bis of the Criminal Code) and unfaithful agency (Art. 158 of the Criminal Code) has asked the Malaysian authorities niches for mutual legal assistance the federal prosecutor. The cooperation of these two countries has already been discussed at the meeting in Zurich on 15 September 2015 between the Federal Public Prosecutor of Switzerland and the Malaysian Attorney General. Letters rogatory is now a concretization of the agreement in principle taken within the framework of this meeting.

The criminal investigation conducted by the Attorney General found serious evidence of embezzlement to the detriment of companies in the Malaysian state. The alleged embezzlement concerns funds which would have been determined for the economic and social development of Malaysia. So far, in this context, four criminally relevant facts (relating to Petro Audi, SRC, Genting / Tanjong and ADMIC) known in the between 2009 and 2013 there are in each case a systematic approach using a sophisticated financial construct.

The amount of the allegedly misappropriated funds amounted to approximately $ 4 billion, whose purpose is the subject of further study. So far, has already been determined that a small part of this money was transferred to accounts of various former Malaysian officials in Switzerland as well as to former or current officials of the United Arab Emirates UAE. So far, the affected Malaysian companies have, however, taken no position on the alleged damage suffered. The purpose of this request for judicial assistance is therefore to make these companies and the Malaysian government attention to the findings in the Swiss criminal proceedings to determine whether such damage has been suffered. Letters rogatory will be presented to the competent authorities in Malaysia niches the next few days.