Anwar Assigns Johari Ghani To Head Task Force Aimed At Resolving Issues Pertaining To 1MDB Scandal

By Lara Kramer  •  10 Mar 2023 in News

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Titiwangsa MP Johari Ghani has been chosen by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to spearhead a task force entrusted to “resolve issues” associated with the 1MDB affair.

Anwar endorsed Johari’s criticism of the US$2.5 billion settlement that Putrajaya reached with Goldman Sachs over the affair, as reported by Bloomberg. This settlement was reached during the premiership of Muhyiddin Yassin in 2020.

Anwar disagreed with prior rulings on the 1MDB crisis settlement with Goldman Sachs during a Dewan Rakyat session yesterday, claiming the sanctions were too lax. The investment bank, according to Anwar, was “profiting off of Malaysia’s suffering and anguish”.

The Goldman Sachs settlement with the Muhyiddin-led administration in 2020 comprised the bank paying the Malaysian government US$2.5 billion in cash and promising the repatriation of US$1.4 billion in 1MDB assets that had been confiscated by international authorities.

Johari urged Putrajaya to look into the participants in Putrajaya’s settlement with Goldman Sachs last month, claiming Malaysia had been treated unfairly in the situation.

According to the former second finance minister, Goldman Sachs received US$606 million in compensation for serving as 1MDB’s main manager and financial adviser for three bonds aggregating US$6.5 billion.

The guilty verdict of two former Goldman Sachs workers, he believes, is just another indication of the “questionable” status of the 1MDB deal.

Additionally, the Barisan Nasional MP claimed that Tim Leissner and Roger Ng, former Goldman Sachs bankers, members of the bank’s senior management, were allegedly at the centre of the 1MDB fraud.

He also stated that he believes it is possible to link their misconduct to Goldman Sachs and hold the bank entirely responsible for all 1MDB damages.