Speaking to reporters during a visit to Seremban, Anwar described the plea by Low Taek Jho as a “non-issue”.
The businessman, also known as Jho Low, is formally seeking a “pardon after completion of sentence”, according to the US department of justice website.
Whistleblowers allege that Low, a well-connected financier with no official role, helped set up the 1MDB state investment fund and made key financial decisions before disappearing about a decade ago.
Low, who has been indicted in the US, has denied wrongdoing but remains at large.
“As far as we are concerned, we are not going in that route,” Anwar said when asked if the government would formally oppose Low’s plea.
“Even if he has submitted, it is not an issue that we should discuss because he is still undergoing this process in courts.”
Investment, trade and industry minister Johari Ghani, who chairs a task force seeking to recover assets linked to 1MDB worldwide, said on Wednesday that the plea should be rejected and Low returned for trial.
The 1MDB fund was launched by former leader Najib Razak in 2009, shortly after he became prime minister.
It is alleged that more than US$4.5 billion was diverted from 1MDB between 2009 and 2015 by fund officials and associates, including Low.
Najib, who has been convicted in multiple cases, has been jailed and fined US$2.8 billion for his role in the plunder.
Najib’s defence lawyers blamed Low and dubbed him the mastermind of the scheme.
Malaysia unsuccessfully sought the return of Low through extradition, and it was widely speculated in media that he was hiding in China.
The scandal shook Malaysian politics, contributing to the 2018 downfall of the ruling coalition that had governed since independence in 1957, and led to the convictions of two former Goldman Sachs bankers.
Investigators said top officials used their ill-gotten gains to splurge on assets worldwide, including a luxury yacht, high-end real estate, Monet as well as Van Gogh paintings, and even to fund the Hollywood blockbuster “The Wolf of Wall Street”.
Actor Leonardo DiCaprio testified in court about Low’s wild spending sprees and lavish parties.