The Prime Minister of Malaysia reportedly said that a settlement with Goldman Sachs over the 1MDB scandal was «possible», but warned against calling the nation’s bluff to go back to court.
In 2020, Goldman Sachs reached multiple settlements worldwide over its involvement in the 1MDB scandal, totalling more than $5 billion. With Malaysia, it agreed to pay $2.5 billion in cash and a guaranteed recovery of $1.4 billion in 1MDB assets in return for dropped charges.
But in August, Malaysia said that it was reviewing the Goldman settlement under newly elected Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and did not rule out a legal pursuit. And in the latest, Anwar noted that a settlement has not been ruled out either.
«[A settlement] is possible because we are not unreasonable, we ask what is reasonable, and I even refused to state the quantum because then we should allow for some flexibility to discuss,» he said in a «Bloomberg» interview. «I don’t think it’s fair to suggest that the entire deal has got to be relooked into, but there are specific areas where there is a flaw. Maybe we just focus on that.»
Asset Recovery Dispute
On the existing settlement, there have been two main issues that have been raised: the size of the deal and disagreements on whether or not the condition of $500 million in assets and proceeds received by August 2022 was met.
«The flaw is firstly the quantum and the interpretation of some of the clauses,» Anwar said, adding that he could get personally involved if needed.
«There’s nothing for us to lose except for the legal fees, which a government can manage. But it’s also the integrity of Goldman Sachs that’s in question.»
