KUALA LUMPUR: Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Co (Ipic) will provide Malaysia with RM4.65bil next year as part of the settlement over the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal, announced Deputy Finance Minister I Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan. This amount will be sufficient to settle the remaining debts of the state investment arm, bringing the total in the trust fund to RM9.85bil. Ahmad Maslan stated this while addressing the Parliament on Monday (Nov 6) during his ministerial reply on Budget 2024. He further mentioned that with this agreement, the “1MDB problem is almost resolved.” The Malaysian government has already paid off debts worth RM24.53bil related to 1MDB.
In 2024, Malaysia will only be required to pay RM287mil in interest. The maturity period for this interest payment is set for 2039. The final principal payment of RM5bil will be made in 2039 as well, according to Ahmad Maslan.
Simultaneously, Ahmad Maslan stated that the government is taking measures to dismiss the demands brought forth by Goldman Sachs. The investment bank initiated arbitration proceedings against the government on Oct 11, 2023. However, Ahmad Maslan believes this demand to be a mischaracterization of the Malaysian government, asserting that there was no breach of the settlement agreement.
On Oct 11, it was reported that Goldman Sachs filed a lawsuit against the Malaysian government in a UK arbitration court. This came after a disagreement arose during former premier Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s tenure to resolve 1MDB’s US$6.5bil bond issue.
There is no additional information available at this time.
