Attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali will cooperate with his Swiss counterparts regarding investigations into state-owned fund 1MDB, the country's top prosecutor said in a statement today.

His comments came after Switzerland's chief prosecutor said he had formally asked Malaysia for help with his probe into possible violations of Swiss law by 1MDB, saying suspected misappropriations amounted to about US$4 billion (RM16.6 billion).

Apandi said the Swiss findings would be reviewed by Malaysia, along with findings of other

relevant authorities and internal investigations, to determine the appropriate course of action.

“I and the relevant Malaysian authorities are keen to establish all the facts about 1MDB that have led to recent allegations against the company. That is why a number of investigations - including by the Public Affairs Committee, the Royal Malaysian Police, and the Auditor General’s Department - are currently on-going,” he said.

“The Malaysian authorities, including the Attorney-General's Chambers, are committed to working with all relevant foreign law enforcement entities through the applicable international conventions and agreements. Similarly, 1MDB has from the outset cooperated with the enquiries.

“Regarding the recent public statement by the Office of the Attorney-General of Switzerland, my office intends to take all possible steps to follow up and collaborate with our Swiss counterparts, and we look forward to receiving the findings of their investigations and materials through the normal channels.

“These materials will then be reviewed, alongside the findings of other relevant authorities and our own investigations, to determine the appropriate course of action.”

Apandi had earlier this week cleared Prime Minister Najib Razak, who chairs the 1MDB advisory board, of any criminal offences or corruption regarding deposits into his personal bank account.

Investigations into 1MDB were separate from probes into the bank deposits, stressed Apandi.

“Contrary to recent media reports, the investigations into donations that were made to the prime minister are entirely separate to those into 1MDB.

“The Attorney-General's Chambers exhaustively reviewed the report provided by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and, as has been announced, found no evidence of wrongdoing and hence have instructed for the cases to be closed.

“Any attempt by media organisations to conflate the two sets of investigations is irresponsible and prejudicial.”