THE government will reassess the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) settlement reached by the previous administration and Goldman Sachs, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said today.

He added that the agreement was made in haste and the 1MDB task force, led by former finance minister II Johari Abdul Ghani, would go over it once again.

“I agree with Johari’s view that the settlement was agreed hastily, which led to many questions being raised,” said Anwar today.

Anwar, who is also the finance minister, said his government wants an improved deal.

“For example, with Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Co, we managed to obtain US$1.8 billion (RM8.06 billion) to settle a 1MDB legal dispute.

“Sometimes people tend to view sincerity and firmness as something frivolous but it is about returning the public’s money,” he told reporters.

He added that the task force had already started working and an announcement will be made accordingly.

Goldman Sachs and the Malaysian government are currently in dispute over how much the US bank owes Malaysia for its role in raising US$6.5 billion in bonds for 1MDB, in 2012 and 2013.

The bonds were earmarked for development, but all except US$2 billion of the money was diverted to pay bribes to government officials, US federal prosecutors had said.

The settlement announced by the previous government in July 2020 called for Goldman Sachs to pay US$2.5 billion, while guaranteeing the return of US$1.4 billion in assets seized by authorities around the world, in exchange for Malaysia dropping charges against the bank.

Johari had said the US$2.5 billion figure was too small, while Goldman Sachs should be made to pay the US$1.4 billion sum outright. – April 17, 2023.