The Malaysian government has appointed Singapore law firm Tan Rajah & Cheah to sue 53 individuals and companies to recover funds belonging to tainted state fund 1MDB that have been seized by Singapore.

1MDB, owned by Malaysia’s Ministry of Finance, has been at the heart of a scandal which has seen corruption allegations levelled against the country’s former prime minister Najib Razak. 

Media reports say that Malaysia’s attorney-general, Tommy Thomas, approved the appointment of Tan Rajah & Cheah. The Malaysian government had to appoint solicitors from Singapore to file the action because Malaysian lawyers cannot appear in Singapore courts.

According to Bloomberg, Malaysian investigators have also issued arrest warrants for two former executives of 1MDB, namely ex-general counsel Jasmine Loo Ai Swan and former executive director Casey Tang Keng Chee. 

Malaysia's current prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, reopened the 1MDB investigations after defeating Najib in the historic May elections.

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