KUALA LUMPUR • Malaysia yesterday said it had received US$80 million (S$105.8 million) from audit firm Deloitte as part of a settlement deal related to a multibillion-dollar scandal at 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

Malaysia's Finance Ministry said in a statement that it is also negotiating a settlement with another auditor, KPMG, related to 1MDB.

About RM16.4 billion (S$5.3 billion) in seized and repatriated 1MDB funds has been returned to Malaysia to date, said the ministry.

The Malaysian government also expects to get RM2.83 billion from local lender AMMB Holdings soon, said the ministry. The settlements with Deloitte and AMMB were announced earlier this year.

The money recovered from Deloitte was deposited in Malaysia's Assets Recovery Trust Account, which has received RM16.386 billion of seized and repatriated funds.

The money will be used mainly to repay 1MDB's debts, said the ministry.

"The current balance is sufficient to service 1MDB's debt obligations for only 2021 and 2022," said Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz. "Once all recovered funds in the Trust Account have been utilised, the government will still have to continue bearing the burden of servicing 1MDB's debt obligations."

REUTERS