Although it is usually a long, drawn-out process, the recovery of 1MDB-linked assets from across the globe will be sped up by political will from Putrajaya and the freezing of the fund’s assets by foreign jurisdictions.

However, the process is still expected to “take time”.

Deputy public prosecutor S Thangavelu, who is with the MACC, told a forum today that the process of recovering the identified assets alone demanded a lot of information.

“As far as the recovery of assets (is concerned), we can’t simply ask the US or other jurisdictions which have seized these properties.

“We have to put in a proper application with facts, figures and hard evidence for them to consider. Only then, can we claim whatever that has been seized.

“It will take time, it will definitely take time,” he told the audience at the “Equanimity: Perspectives on handling criminal investigations relating to government corruption and abuse of power forum” in Kuala Lumpur this evening.

The panel, which also comprised Deputy Rural Minister R Sivarasa and The Edge group CEO Ho Kay Tat, was earlier asked how long it would take before 1MDB-linked assets could be returned to Malaysia.

An example raised was how it had taken British law firm Trowers & Hamlins nine years before it obtained an enforcement order to retrieve US$1.6 billion from a Bahraini scandal worth some US$4 billion. This was revealed earlier this week at another forum by the firm’s Kuala Lumpur representative, Nick Edmondes.

Sivarasa said the freezing of assets by countries like the US, Switzerland and Singapore would speed up the process in the case of 1MDB.

“Looking at what we (the government) have been doing and the circumstances of the 1MDB saga, (we are) certainly not looking at nine years.

“The US has already frozen lots of assets, Switzerland has already frozen assets, Singapore has frozen assets. So recovery of those assets and bringing them back to Malaysia won’t take that long,” he answered.

Similarly, Ho agreed that recovery process would be sped up as Putrajaya had exhibited strong political will to pursue it.

“There is clear determination on the part of Malaysia now ... so I think as far as the recovery of the assets (is concerned), I don’t think it will take nine years, honestly.

“In the US Department of Justice (DoJ) report (on 1MDB), they have done a lot of work and they know exactly where assets are, how the money flowed and every single transaction.

“This is a big case and everyone is involved, many investigators are involved,” he said.

Switzerland had in 2015 frozen more than RM400 million of 1MDB-linked money in Swiss banks while Singapore previously froze 1MDB-linked bank accounts.

Last month, Malaysia appointed a Singaporean law firm to initiate legal action to claim monies belonging to 1MDB previously frozen in the island state.

The DOJ had previously filed three civil forfeiture suits against assets allegedly bought using money misappropriated from 1MDB and sought to seize them. It later applied and was granted a stay.

The DOJ estimates that US$4.5 billion (approximately RM18.5 billion) has been misappropriated by 1MDB.

Prosecution will take even longer

As to prosecution involving 1MDB, both Sivarasa and Thangavelu predicted a more complicated process as it would involve many people across different jurisdictions.

“Looking at the different phases (of) the (1MDB) scandal that took place, we are not just looking at people like Jho Low and Riza Aziz who were the inner circle, but we are looking at the former Prime Minister (Najib Abdul Razak) and his family members.

“(We are) also looking at individuals in PetroSaudi, Aabar BVI, IPIC ... because the money could not have been diverted without the active collusion of those individuals.

“All of them are part of this crime. There is complexity and that will take time because you are bringing in so many agencies,” Sivarasa said.

Earlier this month, Najib was slapped with seven charges of money laundering, criminal breach of trust and abuse of power in relation to his role in the 1MDB scandal.

Furthermore, criminal proceedings demand a high burden of proof which may prove challenging in the 1MDB case, said Thangavelu.

“For criminal matters, you still have to prove beyond reasonable doubt in court. Without the full picture, how are you going to present it to court?

“Unless we can get all the witnesses, which now seems very difficult, (along with) the exhibits and hard evidence, it is going to take some time and (this is) not going to happen very quickly,” he said.

Malaysian businessperson Jho Low, whose full name is Low Taek Jho, is a key figure in the 1MDB affair and has thus far evaded authorities.

Today’s forum was moderated by National Human Rights Society (Hakam) vice president and lawyer M Ramachelvam and marked the end of the International Malaysia Law Conference 2018.