KUALA LUMPUR – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has alluded to the possibility of initiating legal action against Goldman Sachs if the global financial giant refuses to honour its settlement with the Malaysian government over its role in the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) financial scandal.
While Anwar said that he would prefer to resolve the issue without having to turn to the courts, the government has not completely overlooked a potential suit against Goldman as negotiations with the financial service firm have been fruitless thus far.
“Unfortunately, they (Goldman) have not been too forthcoming (regarding negotiations). Therefore, (the government) has no choice but to pursue this (negotiations).
“There are other routes to be taken, (but) I’m not discounting the possibility of proceeding with the issue of suits,” the prime minister said in an interview with US news network CNBC.
Noting that suits in the US will cost the government here “a fortune”, Anwar said it is “only fair” for foreign authorities to be of assistance towards Malaysia’s attempts to recover the wealth it had lost through 1MDB.
“When we talk about governance and these Western countries, (including) the US talk about democratic accountability, it is the rule of law to be supportive of our efforts to regain (lost funds).”
Besides that, Anwar also conveyed his compliments to government agencies such as the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and various ministries for their success in attaining up to 68% of the missing funds.
“This is an impressive feat in any country with such a history of financial malfeasance.”
In April, it was reported that the government is re-evaluating a RM17.3 billion (US$3.9 billion) settlement deal reached between the previous Perikatan Nasional-led administration and Goldman relating to the 1MDB scandal.
Anwar said then that a government taskforce entrusted to look into issues related to the sovereign wealth fund was scrutinising the 2020 deal with Goldman as the settlement was “done hastily”.
In October, 2020, Goldman agreed to pay about US$2.9 billion (RM12 billion) and its Malaysian subsidiary pleaded guilty to a corruption charge involving alleged lootings of billions of dollars from 1MDB and bribery handouts to secure business contracts.
The settlement called for Goldman to make a one-time interim payment of US$250 million if Malaysia does not receive at least US$500 million (RM2.1 billion) in assets and proceeds by August 2022.
It was previously reported that Goldman had helped raise US$6.5 billion (RM26.9 billion) for 1MDB, with more than US$4.5 billion (RM19.1 billion) stolen from the sovereign wealth fund by high-level officials at the fund and their associates between 2009 and 2015. – August 21, 2023