Hong Kong (CNN Business) Malaysia has filed criminal charges against Goldman Sachs over its dealings with a state investment fund at the heart of a multibillion-dollar corruption scandal.

The case relates to bond sales that Goldman Sachs ( GS ) arranged and underwrote for 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) in 2012 and 2013.

The US investment bank and four individuals — two of them former Goldman employees — are accused of "grave violations" of Malaysia's securities laws, Attorney General Tommy Thomas said in a statement Monday.

The Wall Street firm has become a central figure in a damaging scandal involving billions in missing money, Malaysia's former prime minister and a high-rolling financier with ties to Hollywood. But this is the first time Goldman Sachs has faced criminal charges for its role in the saga.

The US Justice Department alleges a total of $4.5 billion was stolen from 1MDB by senior officials. US officials claim that laundered funds were pumped into New York condos, hotels, yachts and a jet, and used to fund movies such as "The Wolf of Wall Street."

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