The 1MDB scandal – Clare Rewcastle Brown and the world’s biggest financial heist, Part One

In this first of two special episodes of True Criminals, journalists Helen Fospero and Martin Brunt are joined by investigative journalist Clare Rewcastle Brown, whose reporting helped expose the extraordinary corruption at the heart of Malaysia’s 1MDB scandal. Rewcastle Brown’s investigation began in Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo, where the destruction of tropical rainforest and the loss of indigenous land led her to investigate political corruption. Following the money would eventually take her to 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), the Malaysian state investment fund established under former prime minister Najib Razak. US prosecutors later alleged that more than $4.5bn was misappropriated from 1MDB, with money funnelled through shell companies and offshore accounts and spent on luxury property, jewellery, priceless art, a superyacht and assets connected to the financing of The Wolf of Wall Street. Rewcastle Brown reveals how leaked documents and whistleblower Xavier Justo helped her uncover a money trail involving PetroSaudi International and Malaysian financier Jho Low, the fugitive businessman alleged by US authorities to have played a central role in the scheme. Working from her kitchen table in London, she found herself taking on some of the most powerful people and institutions in international finance and politics. She describes legal threats, surveillance and intimidation, being targeted by Malaysian authorities – and the extraordinary moment she took her evidence to the FBI, helping to trigger a major US investigation into international kleptocracy and money laundering. From Goldman Sachs and offshore banking to Hollywood celebrities, Beverly Hills mansions and billions in missing money, this is the remarkable inside story of how determined investigative journalism helped expose a scandal that shook Malaysia, contributed to the downfall of a government and reverberated through financial institutions around the world. And this is only Part One. In Part Two, the investigation turns to Jho Low’s extraordinary Hollywood connections, his life as an international fugitive and Rewcastle Brown’s latest investigation into the alleged efforts to cover up the 1MDB financial hole – a trail that leads to China. Clare Rewcastle Brown’s latest book, The China Contract: The Inside Story of the World's Biggest Financial Scandal … and How It Was Covered Up, continues her investigation into the 1MDB affair. Find The China Contract here: https://saqibooks.com/books/the-westbourne-press/the-china-contract/?utm_source=truecrime&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=truecrimepodcast SUPPORT THE SHOW Listen ad-free and access our full catalogue, including a True Criminals coffee mug, on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/truecriminals As an independent podcast, we rely on listener support. You can also donate via PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=YQVFJR5766BJE FOLLOW TRUE CRIMINALS Instagram: @true.criminalsTikTok: @truecriminalspodcast CONNECT WITH MARTIN BRUNT Follow Martin on Twitter at @skymartinbrunt. Discover more about his career and the cases he’s covered by reading his book, No One Got Cracked Over the Head for No Reason: Dispatches from a Crime Reporter, available here: https://amzn.eu/d/g1WisSY CONNECT WITH HELEN FOSPERO Follow Helen on Instagram at @helenfospero and check out her podcast, The Convex Conversation, here: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-convex-conversation/id1510209575 CREDITS True Criminals is produced by Audio Bleach Global. Visit: https://www.audiobleachglobal.com/truecriminals Executive Producer: Lee MannProducer: Russell BarnesAudio Production: BLEACHEDMusic Composition: BLEACHEDArtwork: BLEACHED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices