The headquarters of Goldman Sachs (Photo: AFP/VNA)Hanoi (VNA) –Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on November 13 said bankers atGoldman Sachs Group Inc "cheated" Malaysia in dealings with the statefund 1MDB.
The 1Malaysia Development Bhd(1MDB) fund is the subject of corruption and money-laundering investigations inseveral countries.
“Obviously we have been cheatedthrough the compliance by Goldman Sachs people,” the PM was quoted by CNBC assaying.
The US bank earned about 600 millionUSD in fees for its work with 1MDB, which included three bond offerings in 2012and 2013 that raised 6.5 billion USD.
US prosecutors filed criminal charges against two formerGoldman Sachs bankers earlier this month for many counts such as conspiracy tolaunder money and commit bribery. However, Goldman Sachs denied all accusations.
On November 12, Goldman Sachs’share price fell to its lowest in nearly two years after Malaysia’sMinister of Finance Lim Guan Eng said his country would seek a full refund ofthe fees the bank earned from 1MDB deals.
The US, Malaysia and at least fourother countries are investigating how billions of US dollar went missing from1MDB, founded by former PM Najib-Razak in 2009.
After taking office, PM Mahathirdeclared to give priority to addressing corruption and taking back losses ofthe 1MDB fund.
Najib was accused of gettinginvolved in the loss of billions of US dollar during transactions withforeigners through the fund. He has pleaded not guilty.
The Malaysian Government set up aspecial task force to investigate the fund with the support from the US, Switzerland,Singapore, Canada, andother related countries.-VNA
VNA
