New York-based Goldman Sachs is suing Malaysia over a disagreement in the 1MDB settlement deal. This follows comments from Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim about the possibility of legal action.
Goldman Sachs has filed a complaint against the Malaysian government in the London International Court for Arbitration on 11 October 2023, according to a «Bloomberg» report. The claim is related to a disagreement over a settlement tied to Goldman’s role in the 1MDB scandal.
«We filed for arbitration against the government of Malaysia for violating its obligations to appropriately credit assets against the guarantee provided by Goldman Sachs in our settlement agreement and to recover other assets,» said a spokesperson for the bank.
2020 Settlement
In 2020, Goldman and Malaysia reached a settlement that involved an initial $2.5 billion payment made in September of that year as well as the guaranteed return of $1.4 billion of 1MDB assets. The bank also agreed to make an interim payment of $250 million if Malaysia did not receive at least $500 million of assets and proceeds by August 2022, according to Goldman.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has previously outlined that the condition of recovering $500 million in assets has partly been the source of disagreement. He also said that the size of the deal was an issue. While Anwar has said that the government is open to a settlement deal, he noted that legal action was a possibility.
«There’s nothing for us to lose except for the legal fees, which a government can manage,» he said. «But it’s also the integrity of Goldman Sachs that’s in question.»
