A POLICE report has been made calling on the authorities to investigate a claim that a RM500 million commission had been paid to a political party through a high-profile lawyer.

In his report, Kuang assemblyman Sallehudin Amiruddin alleged the money was paid as commission for helping Putrajaya reach a settlement with Goldman Sachs.

In the report lodged at the Dang Wangi police station on March 12, Pejuang’s Sallehuddin said the message that went viral claimed that the money would be used for the 15th general election.

He wants the authorities to verify the authenticity of the message and determine if the commission was paid.

Sallehuddin said a similar report would be filed with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.

Putrajaya struck a deal with Goldman Sachs, which will be paying US$2.5 billion (RM10.8 billion) cash with the remainder US$1.4 billion guarantee on assets that have yet to be recovered.

The investment bank agreed that Malaysia will receive a minimum nett sum of US$1.4 billion from an agreed list of assets over the next five years.

The payment is to resolve outstanding charges and claims related to three bond transactions that the investment bank arranged for 1Malaysia Development Bhd.

The previous offer was US$1.75 billion.

“Malaysia will now receive more cash and a higher asset guarantee. With this settlement, the people of Malaysia are getting back substantially more than what was offered before,” Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz had said after the deal was struck.

In July last year, Zafrul said Goldman Sachs will pay US$2.5 billion in cash and guarantee the return of at least US$1.4 billion which had been seized by the US government as part of the misappropriated 1MDB funds.

Opposition leaders, including Dr Mahathir Mohamad and former finance minister Lim Guan Eng criticised the settlement.

Dr Mahathir said taxpayers were the ones who will suffer under Perikatan Nasional’s deal with Goldman Sachs.

The former prime minister, whose government sued Goldman Sachs over its role in bond sales related to 1MBD, said the bank should be paying US$9.6 billion.

Lim, meanwhile, said that the government must assure the public that it has not sold Malaysians short or allowed Goldman Sachs to get off over its role in one of the largest financial scandals in history. – March 20, 2021.