KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said that the government is re-evaluating a RM 17.3 billion (US$3.9 billion) settlement deal reached between the previous Perikatan Nasional-led (PN) government and US investment bank Goldman Sachs over the 1MDB financial scandal.
Mr Anwar said on Monday (Apr 17) that a government taskforce looking into 1MDB issues was scrutinising the 2020 deal with Goldman, adding that it was a matter of recovering public funds.
“I agree (with a review) because from the start, I felt the settlement agreement was done hastily which led to many questions being raised,” Mr Anwar was quoted as saying by Bernama.
Goldman Sachs agreed in 2020 to pay US$2.5 billion in cash and guarantee the return of US$1.4 billion in assets to Malaysia to settle a criminal probe into the bank’s alleged involvement in the multi-billion-dollar scandal, in a deal reached during the administration of Muhyiddin Yassin.
Goldman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Malaysian and US authorities estimate some US$4.5 billion were stolen from 1MDB between 2009 and 2014, in a globe-spanning scheme that implicated high-level government and banking officials in Malaysia and elsewhere.
Goldman had helped 1MDB raise US$6.5 billion in two bond offerings, earning itself US$600 million in fees, according to the US Justice Department.