[2][3] In 2015, the company became the subject of a major international corruption scandal, with evidence pointing to money laundering, fraud, and theft.

A lawsuit filed by United States Department of Justice (DOJ), alleged that at least US$3.5 billion has been stolen from Malaysia's 1MDB state-owned fund.

[7] The scandal implicated Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak, contributing to the 2018 election loss of his party and his eventual trial and imprisonment.

In addition, the Federal Government had proposed to provide a guarantee of RM5 billion based on Terengganu's future oil revenues.

[3][11] On 27 May 2009, Ismee Ismail and Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi signed a deal arranged by AmInvestment Bank Bhd to raise RM5 billion via the issuance of Islamic medium term notes (IMTNs), despite being told not to do so by the Terengganu state government.

[12] In his announcement on 22 July 2009, Najib said the decision to expand TIA into a federal entity was made to enable its benefits to reach a broader spectrum of Malaysians rather than the residents of only one state.

The SPC funds with a booked value of US$2.318 was pledged to Deutsche Bank for a loan amount of US$975 million without the approval of 1MDB's board.

The mentioned project was undertaken by the joint venture of ASRC with the Gobi Coal & Energy Limited (GCE) company.

[3][23] On 15 February 2012, SRC's shareholding by 1MDB was transferred to the Ministry of Finance Incorporation (MOFI) by way of acquisition of shares through interim dividend-in-specie payments.

The site covers 486 acres and is planned to be developed into an Islamic financial centre and will include Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) as a partner.

[3] However the deal collapsed on 3 May 2017 due to failure to meet payment obligations, announced by Ministry of Finance of Malaysia (who owned 1MDB).

About 85.7% of land already owned by 1MDB through the acquisition of two companies, Gerak Indera and Farlim Properties (FPSB) with a total price of RM1.056 billion (and related expenses of RM15.25 million).

[3][30] In the early stage of 1MDB formation in 2009, 1MDB has embarked on a move in energy sector investment through joint venture with China and Qatar in:-[3] However, the initial investment fell off due to lack of energy resources and also the government policy that did not allow any other party other than Petronas to supply gas to Independent Power Producer (IPP).

[31] On 18 January 2010, 1MDB signed a co-operation agreement with Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (also known as Masdar) to explore clean technology projects and investments, including the possibility of building Malaysia's first carbon-neutral city.

[32][33] In November 2015, the company agreed to sell its energy assets, worth around $2.3 billion, to China General Nuclear Power Group and its subsidiaries.

[36] [37] [38][39] In early March 2015, with public discontent growing at the perceived lack of financial transparency at 1MDB, Najib, who is also the chairman of 1MDB's board of advisors, ordered the Auditor General of Malaysia to carry out an audit of 1MDB.

[40] However, on completion of the audit, the auditor general's final report was classified as an Official Secret for only the eyes of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) tasked to investigate improprieties at 1MDB.

[43] The involvement of 1MDB in the multi-billion ringgit Tun Razak Exchange development project drew criticism from the opposition within a year of commencement.

Tony Pua, DAP Member of Parliament for Petaling Jaya Utara questioned former Prime Minister Najib Razak, who was also 1MDB's advisory board chairman, as to whether the figures were the result of asset injections into 1MDB by the government, such as the transfer of land rights to the company.

During 2013, 1MDB was in the spotlight again when it applied for a six-month extension for the publication of its annual report that was supposed to be filed with the Companies Commission of Malaysia (CCM) by 30 September 2013.

[52][53][54] In 2015, allegations were made in several newspapers, including The Wall Street Journal, mentioned that the 1MDB organisation had been used to steal state funds for transfer into the accounts of former Prime Minister Najib Razak, and people associated with him such as Jho Low.

[55] In August 2015, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) had confirmed that no funds from 1MDB were transferred to the Prime Minister's private accounts as alleged by The Wall Street Journal.

Its president and group executive director, Arul Kanda, also clarified that none of the company's accounts in Singapore have been frozen, rebutting news reports on the matter.

[61] In February 2016, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the United States began probing the connection between a regional top executive of global investment bank Goldman Sachs with former Prime Minister Najib Razak and the nature of the former's involvement in multibillion-dollar deals with 1MDB.

[62] Similar probes have also taken place or are currently undergoing in the United Kingdom, Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore into banks that facilitated transactions for 1MDB.

[64] In May 2018, after the formation of the new Cabinet following Pakatan Harapan's victory in the General Elections, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng has ordered the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to conduct a special position audit and review of 1MDB.

[67][68] On 7 February 2021, the British National Crime Agency served a warrant against the London law firm Clyde & Co on behalf of the United States Department of Justice seeking the recovery of US$330 million (£243m).

[69] On 9 February 2021, the Malaysian Government filed a lawsuit against Jho Low's former associates and former senior 1MBD officials Jasmine Loo and Casey Tang, seeking the recovery of RM 9.3 million in tax arrears.

[70] On 8 April 2022, former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng was convicted by a US jury of corruption charges related to his role in helping loot hundreds of millions of dollars from Malaysia's 1MDB development fund.

[76][77][78] During an investigation into the 1MDB scandal, the then UAE crown prince, Mohammed Bin Zayed was asked to donate money by Najib.