KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 22 — DAP’s Lim Kit Siang has urged Putrajaya today to sue Goldman Sachs Group Inc to recover the US$7.1 billion (RM29.7 billion) for losses suffered involving the latter’s dealing with 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).

He said the move could emulate the move made by Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC) yesterday.

"The Malaysian government has indicated that it would be asking Goldman Sachs to return nearly US$600 million in fees it earned from bonds raised for scandal-tainted 1MDB,” the Iskandar Puteri MP said in a statement.

"But the action by Abu Dhabi’s IPIC has reinforced the case for litigation to be filed by the Malaysian government against Goldman Sachs for the three bonds totalling US$6.5 billion, the bulk of which had been misappropriated and embezzled.”

Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said earlier this month that bankers at Goldman Sachs "cheated” Malaysia in dealings with 1MDB, amid growing calls in the country for more aggressive steps to recoup fees earned by the bank.

The US investment bank has been under scrutiny for its role in helping raise funds through bond offerings for 1MDB, which is the subject of corruption and money-laundering investigations in at least six countries.

The US Department of Justice has said about US$4.5 billion was misappropriated from 1MDB, including some money that Goldman Sachs helped raise, by high-level officials of the fund and their associates from 2009 through 2014.

US prosecutors filed criminal charges against two former Goldman Sachs bankers earlier this month. One of them, Tim Leissner, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder money and conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.