The US has charged two former Goldman Sachs bankers and a fugitive Malaysian financier in connection with one of the world's biggest financial scandals.

The Department of Justice (DoJ) accused the men of participating in a scheme that stole billions of dollars from Malaysia's economic development fund, 1MDB.

The alleged embezzlement, which authorities say was used to buy Van Gogh paintings and finance Hollywood films, has already contributed to the downfall of the Malaysian prime minister.

The indictment charges Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho, who is also known as Jho Low, with misappropriating money from the state-owned fund and using it for bribes and kickbacks to foreign officials.

Some of the funds were also laundered through luxury real estate purchases, art and jewelry in the US as well as through funding movies, including "The Wolf of Wall Street" starring Leonardo DiCaprio, the DoJ said.