1. The government seems pleased with the settlement with Goldman Sachs.

2. But the sum to be paid to government is nothing compared to what is due to Malaysia.

3. The total amount that should be due is US$9.6 billion (RM41 billion). What Goldman Sachs has agreed to pay is US$2.5 billion in cash. US$1.4 billion will be based on the proceeds of the assets now with Department of Justice (DoJ) of America.

4. Now the DoJ has also undertaken to give back the asset to Malaysia as we have proven that the assets belong to us.

5. In fact, it had already returned US$620 million together with S$50 million (RM155 million) from proceeds of sales of assets.

6. Incidentally the settlement with Riza Aziz is also to be from the sale of assets seized by the United States.

7. The sale of stolen property does not go to the thief. It goes to the owner. In this case, the owner needed to pay the loans taken, including the interest.

8. So actually, Goldman Sachs would be paying back only US$2.5 billion. That is very much less than what it should pay.

9. Its initial offer US$1.75 billion was ridiculous. It was objected to in favour of a settlement in the courts. It must be remembered that the money was borrowed by 1MDB. Now the minister of finance will have to pay the lenders. After the payments received by the government, it will have to pay US$4.85 billion. This will be a charge basically to the taxpayers.

10. I suggest the government withdraw its agreement to accept the US$2.5 billion offered by Goldman Sachs. – July 28, 2020.

* Dr Mahathir Mohamad is the former prime minister. The article first appeared in chedet.cc.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.