Criminal investigations by Swiss authorities into matters surrounding 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) appear to have accelerated after the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) in Singapore announced the receipt of a request for mutual legal assistance from the Office of the Attorney-General of Switzerland (OAG), reports Singapore’s Straits Times.

“The request is receiving attention and the AGC will render all possible assistance to the OAG expeditiously,” a media release by Singapore’s AGC said.

Switzerland is seeking from their Singapore counterparts information and documents relating to funds which are believed to be from 1MDB and its related entities.

This follows FMT’s report yesterday that two former Emirati officials are under probe for suspected embezzlement of 1MDB funds within what is known as the “Genting/Tanjong chapter,” one of four main investigations which the Swiss opened last August.

The investigations relate to two series of bonds issued by 1MDB subsidiaries to finance investments in electric power plants.

According to Swiss authorities, 1MDB subsidiaries had secured guarantees to repay bonds from an Abu Dhabi sovereign fund, but suspect that the moneys paid in connection with those guarantee were not returned to the Abu Dhabi sovereign fund that supported the commercial risk.

“[T]hese funds would have benefited others, particularly two public officials concerned as well as a company related to the motion picture industry,” the OAG statement said.

“A former 1MDB body, already accused in the Swiss proceedings has also benefited from these amounts,” the statement added.

A similar request for mutual legal assistance has been extended by the Swiss to Luxembourg.