Motorcyclists pass a 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) billboard at the Tun Razak Exchange development in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (Photo: Reuters)Hanoi (VNA) – Malaysian Minister of Finance Lim Guan Eng wantsGoldman Sachs to pay 7.5 billion USD in reparations over its dealings with scandal-hitstate fund 1MDB, a report said on December 21.
Lim told the Financial Times that Goldman should return 6.5 billion USD,which is the sum of three 1MDB bond issues arranged by Goldman in 2012 and2013, plus 1 billion USD, to cover fees they earned plus interest payments onthe bonds.
In a response to Lim's comments, Goldman noted that a huge portion ofmoney raised in the bond issues was "stolen for the benefit of members ofthe Malaysian government and their associates", the Financial Timesreported.
Billions of dollars were purportedly stolen from the fund and used tobuy everything from yachts to artwork, in an audacious fraud that allegedly involvedformer Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and contributed to his government'sshock defeat in May elections.
Malaysia this week filed criminal charges against the bank and two ofits former employees, alleging they took part in a scheme to steal huge sumswhile raising cash for the fund.
Malaysian Attorney General Tommy Thomas said criminal charges under thecountry's securities laws were filed on December 17 against Goldman Sachs, itsformer bankers Tim Leissner and Ng Chong Hwa, former 1MDB employee Jasmine Looand financier Low Taek Jho in connection with the bond offerings.
According to the Attorney, the charges arise from the commission andabetment of false or misleading statements by all the accused in order todishonestly misappropriate 2.7 billion USD from the proceeds of three bondsissued by the subsidiaries of 1MDB, which were arranged and underwritten byGoldman Sachs.
Goldman has previously said it will fight the charges brought against itby Malaysian authorities and that members of the former government in KualaLumpur and 1MDB employees lied to the bank.
Ng appeared before a Kuala Lumpur court on December 19 and pleaded not guilty.He has also been indicted in the US, and American officials are seeking his extradition.Meanwhile, Leissner has been indicted in the US and has pleaded guilty.
Then Prime Minister Najib Razak founded the 1MDB investment fund in2009, supposedly to serve Malaysia’s development through global partnershipsand foreign direct investment.
However, it became the centre of a money laundering scandal, allegedlycausing losses of billions of USD and leading to probes into the financialmarkets in several countries such as the US, Switzerland, Singapore, Malaysiaand China.
After assuming power, Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohamad declared to givepriority to addressing corruption and taking back losses of the fund. TheMalaysian government has set up a task force to look into the scandal with helpfrom the US, Switzerland, Singapore, Canada and other countries.-VNA
VNA
