Thursday 25 Apr 2024
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This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on June 25, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed has described the RM1 billion offered by Goldman Sachs as compensation for the role it played in 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal as “peanuts”.

“What Goldman Sachs has offered is not adequate,” Dr Mahathir told CNBC’s Tanvir Gill in Bangkok where he was attending the Asean summit.

He said the finance ministry will decide on the appropriate amount of compensation to demand from Goldman, CNBC reported.

Goldman helped 1MDB raise US$6.5 billion in 2012 and 2013 and collected higher-than-typical fees of US$600 million for the deals.

The Malaysian government has filed criminal charges against three Goldman entities over their handling of the bonds totalling US$6.5 billion issued by 1MDB — the first time a country has filed criminal charges against the banking giant.

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng told CNBC in January that Malaysia is seeking US$7.5 billion from Goldman and called on the bank to “have a heart”.

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