UNDER MUHYIDDIN, MALAYSIA GOT ‘SHORT-CHANGED’ BY GOLDMAN SACHS – UNDER PAKATAN’S 2018 GOVT, MALAYSIA GETS BACK US$1.8 BILLION AFTER LEGAL CHALLENGE LED BY THEN AG TOMMY THOMAS AGAINST IPIC & AABAR – ‘HOW DID THE LAWYER WHO REPRESENTED 1MDB (ARRIVE AT THE SETTLEMENT)?’ UMNO’S JOHARI WANTS MUHYIDDIN REGIME PROBED – ‘WE KNOW THEY ARE GUILTY, YET WE SETTLED FOR SO LITTLE. ONLY US$2.5 BIL WHEN OUR EXPOSURE WAS US$6.5 BIL,’ JOHARI TOLD PARLIAMENT
Probe why Malaysia was short-changed by Goldman Sachs, Johari tells govt
The former second finance minister questions why the Muhyiddin Yassin-led administration settled for US$2.5 billion when its exposure was US$6.5 billion.
KUALA LUMPUR: An MP has urged the government to investigate the role of those involved in Putrajaya’s settlement with Goldman Sachs over the 1MDB scandal, saying Malaysia has been short-changed in the matter.
Johari Ghani (BN-Titiwangsa) said Goldman Sachs acted as the financial adviser and lead manager for three bonds issued by 1MDB worth US$6.5 billion, earning US$606 million in fees in the process.
“What is strange is that we know they are guilty, yet we settled for so little – only US$2.5 billion, when our exposure was US$6.5 billion,” he told the Dewan Rakyat today.
Johari said it was “clear-cut” that Goldman Sachs had “cheated” the government.
“How can they be allowed to run away just like that, when members of the senior management of Goldman Sachs were involved,” he asked, adding that the US Department of Justice had confirmed the involvement of the bank’s senior personnel in the 1MDB scandal.
He said the probe into the 1MDB issue focused only on the political aspect, resulting in only “one person” going to court.
“What happened to members of the senior management (of Goldman Sachs) who were earning millions?” he asked, adding that it was wrong for those involved in the scandal to get away simply by offering themselves as witnesses in the case.
He said it was “cartoonish” that many were involved but only one person had paid the price.
“I want the government to look at the role of the lawyer who represented 1MDB and those involved in the negotiation.
“Why didn’t they take legal action against Goldman Sachs in the US?
“Why did they negotiate without putting the file (containing evidence of Goldman Sachs’ wrongdoing) on the table?”
Johari said if 1MDB had taken legal action against Goldman Sachs in the US, the bank would have come under a lot of pressure as it would not have been able to underwrite loans.
“When it comes to the recovery of funds, why did we sacrifice the money we should have been getting from the world’s number one investment bank? They make billions in profits,” he said.
Previously, Johari accused Goldman Sachs of taking advantage of “inadequate negotiations” by Muhyiddin’s administration to delay the repayment of US$1.4 billion to Putrajaya.
He had also called on the government to publish the terms of the settlement agreement, which has so far been withheld from public scrutiny allegedly due to a confidentiality provision which prohibits its release. FMT
IPIC, Aabar to pay Malaysia US$1.8 billion to settle 1MDB dispute
Malaysia in 2018 had filed a challenge in a London court against a settlement agreement between 1MDB and IPIC that had been negotiated a year earlier during the administration of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak.
Najib was sentenced to 12 years in jail last year after being found guilty in a 1MDB-related corruption case.
In its challenge, Malaysia argued that the 2017 settlement was procured by fraud.
The Finance Ministry said on Monday that the Abu Dhabi companies, 1MDB, and Malaysia’s Minister of Finance (Incorporated) had reached a settlement in respect of proceedings in the London Court of International Arbitration and the London High Court.
“With this settlement, Malaysia and Abu Dhabi look forward to continuing working together for the prosperity and economic benefit of both countries in the future,” the ministry said in a statement.
Clifford Chance LLP, a London-based law firm for IPIC and Aabar, in a statement, said the firms had agreed to pay the settlement figure in three phases: US$800 million within seven days from the end of the London proceedings, and the remainder within two years of the termination.
Malaysia’s 1MDB is the subject of corruption and money-laundering investigations in at least six countries.
An estimated US$4.5 billion was misappropriated from 1MDB by high-level officials of the fund and their associates between 2009 and 2014, the US Justice Department has alleged. – – Reuters
FREE MALAYSIA TODAY / REUTERS
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