It said Attorney-General Tommy Thomas had approved the appointment of Singapore firm, Tan Rajah & Cheah, to act for the Malaysian government.
Among the 53 individuals whose bank accounts have been frozen by the republic is fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low, and SRC International managing director Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil Nik Othman.
Malaysia has to appoint a local legal firm because a court order is needed to recover the money which could run into billions of ringgit.
It is believed that Thomas met his Singapore counterpart Lucien Wong last month to discuss the matter.
The special task force appointed by Putrajaya to investigate the 1MDB scandal is working with a similar task force formed by Singapore authorities to recover the money.
They are also collecting evidence and tracking down witnesses in Singapore.
“Our cooperation is also aimed at collecting evidence and tracking down witnesses in Singapore as soon as possible,” the task force had said in a statement.
“The teams will also establish a money trail to trace funds and existing assets.”
At least six countries, including the US and Switzerland, are investigating claims that US$4.5 billion was siphoned out of 1MDB, a fund founded by former prime minister Najib Razak.
Authorities in Singapore have acted against several individuals such as ex-BSI Bank wealth planner Yeo Jiawei for involvement in 1MDB-related money laundering activities.
It also closed down Zurich-based Falcon Private Bank’s Singapore branch, and withdrew BSI Bank Ltd’s status as a merchant bank in Singapore.
Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has vowed to bring to justice those responsible in the 1MDB scandal.
Early this month, Najib was charged with criminal breach of trust and abuse of power over RM42 million transferred to his private account through an entity linked to 1MDB.