Troubled Malaysian sovereign fund 1MDB is suing Petrosaudi International Ltd. chief executive Patrick Mahony for $1.83 billion over its 2009 three way partnership with the oil exploration company.
In its lawsuit, 1MDB said it was misled into believing that Petrosaudi was owned by the Saudi king, which led it to comply with form the three way partnership. Malaysiakini was the primary to report on the matter.
According to 1MDB, the three way partnership “was a sham, leading to 1MDB suffering a complete lack of investment” of $1.83 billion. Mahony, who was Petrosaudi’s chief investment officer on the time, was chargeable for the quantity due to “unfair aid,” he said.
In a lawsuit filed on May 7 within the Kuala Lumpur High Court, 1MDB alleged that PetroSaudi chief investment officer Patrick Mahony helped several people, including former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak and fugitive financier Jho Low, to misappropriate funds.
Bernama reported that 1MDB also named British law firm White & Case LLP as a defendant within the lawsuit, maintaining that it acted on Mahony’s instructions by preparing purchase and loan agreements on behalf of PetroSaudi with the intention to defraud 1MDB.
Reuters was unable to succeed in Mahony for comment. White & Case didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.
The state fund demands that Mahony and White & Case return it, amongst other things, $1.83 billion.
Lim Chee Wee Partnership, the Malaysian law firm representing 1MDB, confirmed the filing to Reuters.
1MDB became the middle of a multibillion-dollar scandal that spawned investigations on several continents.
Swiss prosecutors accused Mahony and Saudi-Swiss businessman Tarek Obaid of pretending to barter on behalf of the late King Abdullah while claiming rights to a Caspian Sea oil field they never controlled with the intention to defraud 1MDB. Mahony denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty.
Malaysian and US investigators estimate that $4.5 billion has been siphoned from 1MDB since its inception in 2009, involving Najib Razak, Goldman Sachs employees and high-level officials elsewhere.
