blogtunm.blogspot.com Tun M
1. The Government seems pleased with the settlement with Goldman Sachs.
2. But the sum to be paid to Government is nothing compared to what is due to Malaysia.
3. The total amount that should be due is USD9.6 billion. What Goldman Sachs has agreed to pay is USD2.5 billion in cash. USD1.4 billion will be based on the proceeds of the assets now with Department of Justice (DOJ) of America.
4. Now the DOJ has also undertaken to give back the asset to Malaysia as we have proven that the assets belong to us.
5. In fact, it had already returned USD620 million together with SGD50 million from proceeds of sales of assets.
6. Incidentally the settlement with Riza Aziz is also to be from the sale of assets seized by the United States (US).
7. The sale of stolen property does not go to the thief. It goes to the owner. In this ease the owner needed to pay the loans taken including the interest.
8. So actually, Goldman Sachs would be paying back only USD2.5 billion. That is very much less than what it should pay.
9. Its initial offer USD1.75 billion was ridiculous. It was objected to in favor of a settlement in the courts. It must be remembered that the money was borrowed by 1MDB. Now the Minister of Finance will have to pay the lenders. After the payments received by the Government, it will have to pay USD4.85 billion. This will be a charge basically to the tax payers.
10. I suggest the Government withdraw its agreement to accept the USD2.5 billion offered by Goldman Sachs.
