Speaking at Asia Summit in Singapore, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said Malaysia is not “some banana republic where one can plunder and leave”, as he warned US investment bank Goldman Sachs that the country would go “very far” to retrieve most of the public funds lost in a multibillion-dollar financial scandal.
He also said the government is determined to bring back convicted Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng Chong Hwa and financier fugitive Low Taek Jho, both linked to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) case.
PM Anwar further warned Goldman Sachs not to take Malaysia “for a ride” and urged the bank to renegotiate a settlement it had reached over 1MDB with a previous Malaysian government.
“You cannot say that this issue is over because it was agreed by my predecessor. I have issues to raise,” said Mr Anwar, adding that Goldman Sachs has not been forthcoming over the matter and that he does not wish to prolong this issue.
“Why can’t we continue to engage and discuss? We have our position; we want some more money back.”
Under a 2020 settlement agreed with the former Muhyiddin Yasin administration, Goldman Sachs agreed to pay Malaysia US$3.9 billion for its role in the 1MDB case, while Kuala Lumpur agreed to end all criminal proceedings against the bank.
This includes a US$2.5 billion cash payment and a guarantee to return US$1.4 billion in assets to Malaysia.
Everybody knows … that Malaysia suffered immensely due to the excesses of 1MDB. It could not have happened in the manner it did without the complicity of international financial institutions, and in this case particularly, Goldman Sachs,” said Mr Anwar, though he declined to reveal how much Malaysia has received from Goldman Sachs.
He also told Bloomberg anchor Haslinda Amin that he was prepared to take a “tougher” stance – including legal action – against Goldman Sachs, reiterating a warning just ahead of his trip to the US next week for the United Nations General Assembly.
While the PM accepted that a previous settlement had been reached under former PM Muhyiddin Yassin, he said he wished to raise some issues and urged the bank to listen to him in hopes of settling some of them “amicably”.
“I would convey clearly to Goldman Sachs to put an end to this, but it depends on them. They have to be forthcoming; they cannot shy away,” said the premier, adding though he would not be meeting with bank officials yet.
“You can’t consider us (to be) some banana republic that you can plunder and then leave us alone. No. We will not stop at that, because it’s not my money and I owe it to my people.”
