What is most strange about the 1MDB scandal is that money from Malaysia ended up being used to finance a movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
More than a decade on, Malaysians are still bearing the consequences.
The case of 1Malaysia Development Berhad gained international fame due to its highly unbelievable level of excess. It involved Hollywood celebrities, paintings worth millions of dollars, private jets, luxury real estate and a superyacht valued at 250 million US dollars. Money from the Malaysian state investment fund was also used to finance The Wolf of Wall Street, a film concerning financial fraud.
However, the celebrity aspect of 1MDB can hide the part that is most important nowadays.
By the middle of 2026 Malaysia had already settled RM42.5 billion of the 1MDB debts and liabilities, although an additional government-guaranteed debt of RM8.9 billion was still outstanding. Although the government has managed to recover RM31.3 billion, it might still have to cover a net amount of RM20.1 billion in the end if further recovery efforts are not successful, as stated in the figures provided by The Edge Malaysia.
The days of the yachts and Hollywood parties are over.
The debt is not.
The part of 1MDB everyone remembers
The 1MDB was set up in 2009 as a state investment fund with the aim of promoting economic development in Malaysia by making investments in fields such as energy and real estate. Jho Low, who was a well-connected Malaysian financier and held no official post at the fund, was alleged to have played a central role in its financial transactions.
By 2014 the debts of 1MDB had reached about US$11 billion, and it was later claimed that more than US$4.5 billion had been diverted from the fund between 2009 and 2015, as stated in a detailed account published by the Malay Mail.
The fact that some of that money had been spent was what made 1MDB stand out from almost any government finance scandal that had come before it.
Tens of millions of dollars were employed in order to help fund The Wolf of Wall Street; hundreds of millions more were linked to luxury real estate in Beverly Hills, in New York and in London. The reported purchases comprised a Monet worth US$35 million, a Van Gogh worth US$5.5 million, a Bombardier jet valued at US$35 million, a US$100 million interest in EMI Music Publishing and the Equanimity yacht worth US$250 million.
Leonardo DiCaprio was also granted exceptional gifts linked to Jho Low. According to a report by the Malay Mail, the authorities claimed that Low had used the US$3.2 million which had been diverted from the sale of a 1MDB bond to buy a Picasso for the actor, as well as a Basquiat for US$9.2 million. DiCaprio worked with the authorities and was not charged with having taken part in the fraud.
The fact that there was a connection with Hollywood made the scandal interesting.
The figures make it disturbing.
Malaysia did recover billions, but that does not erase the bill
Malaysia has in fact been very successful in recovering money and assets that have been stolen.
In May Azam Baki, who is the chief commissioner of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, stated that approximately RM31.3 billion, which is 74.5% of the RM42 billion in funds and assets connected with 1MDB, had been recovered. He mentioned that Malaysia is aiming to recover another US$2 billion, or about RM7.9 billion, with the hope of achieving this by 2027, as reported by The Star.
Azam stated that the international standards for recovery funds are between 60 and 70 per cent, whereas we have achieved more than 70 per cent.
That is important. When money has been distributed via shell companies, financial institutions, real estate, artwork and accounts in a number of different countries, governments seldom manage to recover each and every dollar.
Recovered assets and debt obligations are entirely separate.
In July, Malaysia’s deputy finance minister, Liew Chin Tong, stated to parliament that the government had already settled RM42.5 billion of the 1MDB debts and liabilities by the end of June 2026; there is also an additional Islamic medium-term note with a principal amount of RM5 billion and interest of RM3.9 billion.
More importantly, Liew cautions that future recoveries of assets are not likely to fully cover what is left.
It changes the 1MDB case from one of old corruption into a present-day financial issue.
Any ringgit needed to clear an old liability must be money which the government cannot use for anything else unless it raises extra revenue, cuts some other expense, or borrows.
It is the aspect of the scandal that a picture of a superyacht cannot convey.
Najib’s conviction changed the story again
Although former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak had already been imprisoned in the other corruption case relating to SRC International, the main 1MDB case still resulted in a historic ruling in December 2025.
The High Court in Malaysia convicted Najib of all 25 charges, which included four offences of abuse of power and 21 charges of money laundering relating to about RM2.2 billion.
He received a 15-year prison sentence for the abuse of power and five years’ imprisonment for each of the money-laundering charges, the sentences to be served at the same time. He was also fined S$11.38 billion, as reported by the Singapore-based CNA. Najib has appealed the verdict.
Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah later made perhaps the most important remark of all with regard to the scandal.
He said that the repercussions and consequences resulting from the fallout of the scandal are still ongoing, adding afterwards: “This will also affect future generations of Malaysians.”
The comments were provided by The Edge Malaysia, citing the judge’s remarks about the huge debt left over by 1MDB.
It might be a more useful approach when trying to understand 1MDB than concentrating on the amount that a particular painting cost.
A painting may be taken and sold.
A yacht is available at an auction.
The repair of a country’s damaged balance sheet is a slow process.
Jho Low is still the unfinished part of 1MDB
There’s also Jho Low.
Despite the fact that there have been many criminal investigations, a number of convictions and billions of ringgit having been recovered, the man who is accused of being one of the main architects of the scheme is still at large.
It is still not known where he is.
Remarkably, the story continues to be developing.
In May 2026 it was reported that Low had been asking U.S. President Donald Trump for a pardon regarding the American criminal charges related to 1MDB. Johari Abdul Ghani, chairman of Malaysia’s 1MDB asset recovery task force, openly opposed this request.
In Johari’s view, he opposes the pardon, and he believes that the American authorities should assist Malaysia in finding Low so that further investigation can be carried out.
It has on several occasions been reported that Low was in or near China, though his exact position has never been made public. Moreover, Malaysian authorities rejected the reports from July stating that he had entered Malaysia secretly in order to negotiate the return of the 1MDB assets.
The 1MDB case is therefore an unusually incomplete one.
A former prime minister from Malaysia has been found guilty. People involved in banking have suffered repercussions. The artwork has been handed over. The properties have been sold and billions of ringgit have gone back into government accounts.
Malaysia is still trying to get money, is still paying off its liabilities and is still looking for Jho Low.
The celebrity excess is what made 1MDB known, but it shouldn’t determine how the scandal is remembered.
The movie The Wolf of Wall Street has a running time of three hours.
More than ten years ago, Malaysia has been paying for the true story.