KUALA LUMPUR, July 28 ― Malaysia will not get anything near what the country was owed if Putrajaya proceeds with its US$2.5 billion (RM10.6 billion) settlement with US investment bank Goldman Sachs, former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said.
He said on his personal blog that Malaysia was entitled to as much as US$9.6 billion from the bank that handled a controversial bond issuance for 1MDB.
“The government seems pleased with the settlement with Goldman Sachs. But the sum to be paid to the government is nothing compared to what is due to Malaysia.
“The total amount that should be due is US$9.6 billion. What Goldman Sachs has agreed to pay is US$2.5 billion in cash. US$1.4 billion will be based on the proceeds of the assets now with the Department of Justice (DOJ) of America.
Dr Mahathir’s administration had started the pursuit of Goldman Sachs over the issue, filing criminal charges against the bank here while simultaneously initiating civil action against it in the US.
Today, he insisted that the US$1.4 billion also included what was already recovered under the US Justice Department's kleptocracy action on 1MDB, of which US$620 million together with S$50 million have already been returned to Malaysia.
“So actually, Goldman Sachs would be paying back only US$2.5 billion. That is very much less than what it should pay.”
He then urged the government to rescind the agreement to settle the matter with Goldman.
Earlier last week, It was reported that the US investment bank has reached a settlement with the Malaysian government over the multibillion-dollar 1MDB scandal.
The two sides reportedly said the deal includes a US$2.5 billion cash payout by Goldman and a guarantee by the bank to return at least US$1.4 billion in assets linked to the bonds.
