Malaysia should emulate Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Co. (IPIC) and sue Goldman Sachs to recover US$7.1 bilion for losses suffered as a result of three bonds totally US$6.5 billion and US$600 million commission to Goldman Sachs.

Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC) yesterday filed a lawsuit against US investment bank Goldman Sachs and others to recover losses suffered through its dealings with Malaysian state fund 1MDB.

1MDB is the subject of corruption and money-laundering investigations in at least six countries.

IPIC said it filed a civil legal action in New York against Goldman, and others, alleging they “played a central role in a long-running effort to corrupt former executives of IPIC and its subsidiary Aabar Investments, and mislead IPIC and Aabar.”

The suit alleged Goldman conspired with unidentified people from Malaysia to bribe Khadem Abdulla al-Qubaisi, former IPIC managing director and Aabar chairperson, and Mohamed Ahmed Badawy al-Husseiny, former Aabar chief executive, to further the business of Goldman and 1MDB at the expense of IPIC and Aabar.

The Malaysian government has indicated that it would be asking Goldman Sachs to return nearly US $600 million in fees it earned from bonds raised for scandal-tainted 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), but the action by Abu Dhabi’s IPIC has reinforced the case for litigation to be filed by the Malaysian government against Goldman Sachs for the three bonds totally US$6.5 billion, the bulk of which had been misappropriated and embezzled.

(Media Comment (2) by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Parliament on Thursday, 22nd November 2018)