1MDB scandal: Malaysia and Goldman finalise US$3.9 billion settlement

Name: Malaysia’s former PM sentenced to 12 years in jail and fined US$49 million
Uploaded: 2020-08-19T02:56:35.000Z
Duration: 1 min 43 s
Description: Malaysia’s former PM sentenced to 12 years in jail and fined US$49 million

The firm must make a US$2.5 billion cash payment to Malaysia within 10 days, sources say

The deal was reached in exchange for Malaysia dropping charges against Goldman for its role in the 1MDB corruption saga

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The 1MDB state fund is at the centre of global probes into corruption and money-laundering. File photo: Reuters

Bloomberg

Published: 10:56am, 19 Aug 2020Updated: 12:26pm, 19 Aug 2020

Malaysia and the Goldman Sachs have signed an agreement to finalise the bank’s US$3.9 billion settlement over the 1MDB scandal.

The US bank, which had announced an agreement in principle on July 24, confirmed the formal accord in a regulatory filing late on Tuesday in New York.

The firm must make a US$2.5 billion cash payment to Malaysia within 10 days, people with knowledge of the matter said this week, asking not to be identified as the information is private.

The pact marks a major step toward resolving the scandal surrounding 1MDB, a Malaysian state fund that is at the centre of global investigations into corruption and money-laundering.

The deal announced in July called for Goldman to pay US$2.5 billion while guaranteeing the return of US$1.4 billion of 1MDB assets seized by authorities around the world, in exchange for Malaysia dropping charges against the bank.

The deal helps the bank move on from its worst scandal since the financial crisis, while Malaysia gets to recoup much of the US$4.5 billion that prosecutors said were lost from 1MDB at a time when it is seeking funds for its massive stimulus package.

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Malaysia’s former PM sentenced to 12 years in jail and fined US$49 million

Over much of a decade, 1MDB has become shorthand for one of the world’s most daring heists – a conspiracy that spawned probes in Asia, the United States and Europe.