Newly elected Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad wants billions of dollars lost in the 1MDB corruption scandal returned to the country.
During a late night speech in Kuala Lumpur, 92 year-old Mahathir Mohamad wasted no time in outlining his reform agenda. He also took a swipe at the previous administration, the Malaysian publication «New Straits Times» reported.
Among a list of ten actions Mahathir promised to undertake in the first 100 days was the setting up of a royal commission of inquiry into scandal-tainted institutions. This includes the state fund 1 Malaysia Development Berhad, commonly known as 1MDB.
Financial Problems
Malaysian non-governmental organizations previously have urged the Swiss government to return 1MDB assets confiscated by the authorities in the European country.
Without Malaysia admitting it has been hurt by the 1MDB scandal, Switzerland has had little option but to hold the contested and seized funds in treasury until either the law is changed or Malaysia decides to make a claim for them. This may be about to change.
Bloated Debt
«We believe that we can get most of the 1MDB money back,» said Mahathir, who also revealed that some of his country's debt was bloated and needed to be renegotiated. His comments came after the Bank Negara divulged that total government borrowings from financial institutions of the previous administration amounted to close to 800 billion Malaysian ringgit.
