Malaysian 1MDB wealth fund and former unit file lawsuits to recover £16.3bn

A billboard for state investment fund 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) at the fund’s flagship Tun Razak Exchange development in Kuala Lumpur (Joshua Paul/AP)

Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1MDB and a former subsidiary have filed 22 lawsuits to recover assets worth more than 23 billion US dollars (£16.3 billion) from various institutions and individuals, the Finance Ministry said.

1MDB was set up by former prime minister Najib Razak in 2009 but it accumulated billions in debts and sparked investigations in the US and several other countries.