PARLIAMENT The balance of US$1.103 billion that 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) had invested in a Cayman Islands fund has been brought back but is being kept in a Singapore bank, the government said.

In a written answer to Tony Pua (DAP-Petaling Jaya Utara), the Finance Ministry said the amount, equivalent to more than RM4 billion, has been parked in BSI Bank Ltd Singapore (BSI Singapore).

"The decision to use a bank in Singapore was done in order to smoothen the transaction as there are regulations from Bank Negara that transactions above RM50 million need its approval," stated the ministry.

BSI Singapore is a Swiss bank located in Singapore.

1MDB president and executive director Arul Kanda previously stated that the money will not be repatriated back to Malaysia but instead be used to service 1MDB's other bonds.

However, Pua today questioned as to why the money was being kept in Singapore when it can be used to manage 1MDB's cash flow as it now sits on a RM42 billion debt.

"There is something fishy here. If they have taken the money back, why has it not been brought back to Malaysia?" he asked.