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An American businesswoman was sentenced to two years in prison in the District of Hawaii in January 2023. Together with three others, she facilitated an unregistered lobbying campaign on behalf of the company 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), a Malaysian state fund that was the center of a massive embezzlement scandal.
She and her co-conspirators received millions of Dollars from an alleged architect of the 1MDB scheme to lobby then-President Trump, the Attorney General, and other high-level US officials with the aim of making them drop investigations and proceedings against the company. All the while the individuals concealed who paid for their lobbying activities.
One of the other co-conspirators received a presidential pardon, another is awaiting sentencing and the third's trial will begin in March this year.
Department of Justice press release of Jan. 19, 2023:
About 1MDB: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/oct/25/1mdb-scandal-explained-a-tale-of-malaysias-missing-billions
Endnote: In 2020, she also pleaded guilty to facilitating back-channel lobbying campaign to drop 1MDB investigation and remove a foreign national to China.
Photo by Kyle Mills on Unsplash
#lobbying #corruption #politics #embezzlement #US #USA #1MDB #China #Malaysia #investigations #crime #justice #DOJ #conspiracy