Malaysia still investigating lawyers linked to Goldman-1MDB deal

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia will press ahead with a probe of lawyers who worked on a 2020 settlement with Goldman Sachs Group over diversion of assets from state wealth fund 1MDB, despite halting a legal bid to obtain documents related to the deal.

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has withdrawn the court application to obtain documents from the lawyers as they were not needed for now, Deputy Public Prosecutor Mahadi Abdul Jumaat told reporters on Dec 6.

“We may still ask for other documents at a later stage,” he said.

The anti-graft body filed the application on Oct 11 amid festering disagreement between Malaysia and Goldman over the settlement related to the US bank’s role in the 1MDB investment-fund scandal.

Lawyers involved in the deal three years ago are now under scrutiny by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s administration for alleged corruption.

As part of the 2020 settlement with Malaysia,

Goldman made an initial US$2.5 billion (S$3.35 billion) payment

in September of that year.

It also guaranteed the return of US$1.4 billion of 1MDB assets seized by the authorities worldwide in exchange for Malaysia agreeing to drop criminal charges against the firm and to not bring new ones.  

Datuk Seri Anwar said earlier in 2023 that he wants to review the settlement his predecessor struck with Goldman, describing it as “too light”. Goldman in turn took Malaysia to a British court for “violating its obligations”.

Mr Rosli Dahlan, whose law firm acted on behalf of 1MDB when the deal was struck, said separately on Dec 6 that the MACC’s actions were an attempt to smear his reputation. 

“All these shenanigans against my firm and I must stop,” Mr Rosli said. “There is still much to be done to recover the losses from the 1MDB scandal,” he added.

The 1MDB investment fund became the

centre of a multibillion-dollar scandal

that spawned probes across continents.

Months after striking the initial agreement in 2020,

Goldman admitted to its role

in the biggest foreign bribery case in US enforcement history.

Goldman Sachs’s lawyer Shaarvin Raaj said on Dec 6 that the US bank had withdrawn its application to be an intervenor in the case after the MACC halted its legal bid for the documents. BLOOMBERG