POLICE must investigate reports on allegations of purported kickbacks linked to the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) settlement with Goldman Sachs, said lawyer Haniff Khatri Abdulla. 

He said a probe into the matter was important to determine the truth and to clear doubts if someone had received commissions over the settlement.

He added that the investigation should also determine if there were any wrongdoings by any parties, as claimed by some quarters. 

“I think we have to look at it objectively. I believe there are parties who have lodged police reports asking for the matter to be investigated first,” he said. 

He also said those responsible for spreading the information should be taken to court if the claims were found to be false. 

“But if the statement itself is false and libellous, then perhaps the investigation must move on to identify the culprit who maliciously spread the information or the message until raising confusion and questions with regards to the recovery action of 1MDB,” he said.

“So either way I believe the police report is to assist in clearing this issue,” he added. 

Kuang assemblyman Sallehudin Amiruddin recently lodged a police report urging the authorities to investigate a viral claim that millions had been paid to a political party through a high-profile lawyer over the 1MDB-Goldman Sachs settlement. 

However, Bersatu’s information chief Wan Saiful Wan Jan refuted the claim, adding that it was another attempt by the opposition to slander the party and Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

Lawyer Rosli Dahlan, the lead counsel for 1MDB, also lodged a police report against Sallehudin, Umno’s Lokman Adam and blogger Mohd Hanizam Yunus for the malicious claims he received billions of ringgit in kickbacks from Goldman Sachs in the settlement.

Whistle-blower website Sarawak Report also cited sources that 5% of the settlement with Goldman Sachs was awarded as commission to key negotiators appointed by the government.

1MDB’s board of directors recently said in a statement that legal counsels appointed for the process were not remunerated based on commissions.

“These legal counsels were remunerated based on a pre-agreed time cost, and not based on commission or a percentage of the value of settlements, or assets recovered,” 1MDB’s board said in a statement on March 26.

The board said its priority was to recover assets linked to the embattled state strategic development fund. 

1MDB’s directors said the US$2.5 billion (RM10.35 billion) settlement cash received from Goldman Sachs has been deposited into the Asset Recovery Trust Account, which is under the custody of the Accountant-General’s Department. – April 2, 2021.