In a statement, the finance ministry said that to date, RM16.05 billion seized in relation to 1MDB has been put into Malaysia’s Assets Recovery Trust Account, which is used to repay and service debts accrued by 1MDB and SRC International Sdn Bhd.

“The current balance is sufficient to service 1MDB’s debt obligations for 2021 and 2022 only. This balance excludes the settlement amount of RM2.83 billion that will be received from the Ambank Group and RM336 million from Deloitte,” said finance minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz.

1MDB’s outstanding debt now stands at RM39.8 billion with RM12.4 billion already repaid, while SRC’s is currently at RM2.57 billion after RM3.1 billion repayment since 2014.

Once funds in the account are exhausted, Tengku Zafrul said, the government would have to continue bearing the costs of servicing the debts of the strategic development company, which were backed by the government’s guarantee and letter of support when they were created.

The government’s current recovery efforts focus on parties who caused losses to 1MDB and SRC, whether through direct or indirect involvement in their operations, as well as those who wrongly received SRC funds under the guise of corporate social responsibility activities.

Tengku Zafrul thanked the US government and the DOJ for their continued efforts and said he looked forward to continued cooperation.

This marks the latest step in the recovery of assets linked to the 1MDB development company, which has been embroiled in lawsuits in recent years involving high-level government officials and foreign banks.

On Monday, the finance ministry announced that it had filed 22 civil suits against entities and people alleged to have defrauded it, seeking to recover US$23 billion (RM94.9 billion) in assets.

While the government did not state who or what it intended to sue, The Edge cited court documents that indicated JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank were among the respondents.

We are live on Telegram, subscribe here for breaking news and the latest announcements.