New Delhi: Malaysia has reached a $3.9bn settlement with Goldman Sachs over losses suffered from a multibillion-dollar scandal at the country’s 1MDB investment fund.
The deal announced on Friday includes a $2.5bn cash payout by the Wall Street giant to the Malaysian government and a guarantee to return at least $1.4bn in assets linked to 1MDB bonds.
“This settlement represents assets that rightfully belong to the Malaysian people. We are confident that we are securing more money from Goldman Sachs compared to previous attempts, which were far below expectations,” Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz, Malaysia’s finance minister, said.
“We are also glad to be able to resolve this outside the court system, which would have cost a lot of time, money and resources,” he said, adding the deal would resolve all outstanding charges and claims against Goldman Sachs.
Billions of dollars were looted from 1Malaysia Development Berhad or 1MDB, a now-defunct investment fund ostensibly set up to accelerate Malaysia’s economic development, in a fraud that allegedly involved former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and his cronies.
