Johari Ghani and ex-AG Tommy Thomas have misgivings about a 2020 settlement agreement between Goldman Sachs and the government announced by then finance minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz.
“Also, two of the bank’s senior executives, Tim Leissner and Roger Ng, have already been convicted for 1MDB-related criminal offences in New York,” he said. King’s Counsel can also advise whether the government has a claim against parties involved in negotiating the settlement agreement, and whether these can be brought in the same action or by means of a separate suit, he added.
On July 3, 2020, he put his proposal in writing to Muhyiddin, who sent it on to Idrus on July 15, 2020. The settlement consisted of a payment by Goldman Sachs of US$2.5 billion and a guarantee to return at least US$1.4 billion in the form of assets.“Malaysia’s total exposure in principal and interest on the three bonds US$9.6 billion,” he noted.
In an interview with Bloomberg Television in January, Anwar accused Goldman Sachs of reneging on the terms of the settlement agreement and using its financial might to dictate terms.