SINGAPORE, Oct. 1 -- A Singapore court has blocked attempts by foreign liquidators to recover funds linked to the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal, dealing a setback to Malaysia's wider efforts to recoup billions lost from the state-owned investment fund.

The High Court ruled that Standard Chartered and BSI Bank cannot be sued in Singapore over transactions tied to 1MDB because the country's cross-border insolvency law does not cover deals made before 2018, The Straits Times reported.

Liquidators for Blackstone Asia Real Estate Partners and Brazen Sky - companies implicated in the 1MDB scheme - had sought to reverse suspicious transfers through avoidance claims, a legal tool often used to recover assets for creditors.

These leg...