KUALA LUMPUR, April 11 — 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) said today it was “curious” as to why Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) and subsidiary, Aabar Investments took three years to finally speak up about the ownership of British Virgin Islands firm Aabar BVI

In a statement, 1MDB refuted IPIC and Aabar’s denial of having any stakes in Aabar BVI, saying that it had “documentary evidence” which will prove otherwise.

“Accordingly, 1MDB finds it curious that IPIC and Aabar have waited until April 2016 to issue such a statement.

“1MDB states for the record that the substantial sums paid to Aabar BVI have been clearly recorded in the publicly available and audited 1MDB financial statements dated 31.03.2013 and 31.03.2014,” the firm said.

1MDB reportedly paid at least US$850 million (RM 3.7 billion) to Aabar BVI before.

“Further, the amounts paid have been subject of much commentary, starting from 2013 right up to the present. Accordingly, 1MDB finds it curious that IPIC and Aabar have waited until April 2016 to issue such a statement,” it added.

It said that the payments to Aabar BVI were made pursuant to legal arrangements and negotiations with IPIC managing director Khadem Al Qubaisi and Aabar CEO Mohamed Badawy Al Husseiny.

“It is, therefore, a surprising claim that neither IPIC nor Aabar have knowledge of, nor have benefited from, payments made by 1MDB to Aabar BVI,” 1MDB added.