U.S. goes after more than $1B taken from Malaysian fund

WASHINGTON (AP) – The United States government is seeking the forfeiture of more than $1 billion in assets that federal officials say were misappropriated from a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund. The Justice Department filed civil complaints on Wednesday and Attorney General Loretta Lynch was expected to discuss the forfeiture demands at a news conference. The department says high-level officials of the wealth fund laundered more than $1 billion through the United States and misappropriated more than $3 billion. The fund was created by the Malaysian government with the goal of promoting economic development. The Justice Department says the funds that were laundered into the U.S. were used for various assets, including real estate and hotel properties, a jet aircraft, fancy artwork and production of the Oscar-nominated movie, “The Wolf of Wall Street.”