SINGAPORE, Nov 24 (Reuters) - A Singapore court has

cleared the way for a $2.7 billion lawsuit against Standard

Chartered Bank ( SCBFF ) over its alleged role in 1MDB fraud,

liquidators seeking to recover the funds said on Monday.

Singapore High Court dismissed an application by the bank to

strike out a suit filed against it by liquidators, the

liquidators said in a press release, calling it "a significant

legal victory" allowing the case to continue.

Liquidators trying to recover money from Malaysia's

sovereign wealth fund 1MDB sued Standard Chartered Bank ( SCBFF ) in

Singapore in June, alleging it enabled acts of fraud that caused

more than $2.7 billion in financial losses more than 10 years

ago.

"We are pleased that this application has been

dismissed," they said in the statement. "It also enables us to

continue the work of recovering misappropriated assets that

rightfully belong to the people of Malaysia."

The move was the latest in a wide-ranging effort to recover

money belonging to 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), from

which U.S. investigators say about $4.5 billion was stolen

between 2009 and 2014 in a complex, globe-spanning scheme.

"Standard Chartered ( SCBFF ) disagrees with the decision and will

be filing an appeal," said a spokesman for the bank. In July,

the bank said it emphatically rejected the liquidators' claims.

Three companies in liquidation linked to 1MDB say Standard

Chartered ( SCBFF ) permitted over 100 intrabank transfers between 2009

and 2013 that helped conceal the flow of stolen funds.

They also allege the bank chose to overlook obvious red

flags in relation to the transfer of funds, resulting in the

losses, the liquidators said.

The liquidators said the funds that flowed through the

Standard Chartered ( SCBFF ) accounts included transfers to the personal

bank account of former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, who

is serving a six-year prison sentence after being convicted of

graft linked to 1MDB.

At least six countries, including Singapore and Switzerland,

have launched investigations into 1MDB dealings in a global

probe that has implicated high-ranking officials and bankers

worldwide, including Najib and executives from U.S. bank Goldman

Sachs ( GS ).

Malaysia said last year it had recovered a total of 29

billion ringgit ($7.01 billion) in 1MDB assets between 2019 and

February 2024.

In 2016, Singapore's central bank imposed penalties of S$5.2

million on the local unit of Standard Chartered ( SCBFF ) for money

laundering breaches related to the 1MDB scandal.

($1 = 4.1390 ringgit)