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PM: 'I'll do all it takes to get 1MDB money back'

SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will do all it takes to recover the multi-billion 1MDB funds from Goldman Sachs.

Anwar, on a working trip to the republic for the 10th Annual Milken Institute Asia Summit 2023, said Malaysia will go all the way including filing lawsuits if required against Goldman Sachs over its role in the multi-billion 1MDB corruption scandal.

"Malaysia had already obtained a portion of its claims related to the losses incurred by 1MDB and from Abu Dhabi's International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC).

IPIC and its unit Aabar Investments PJS paid $1.8 billion to settle a legal dispute over the 1MDB funds.

Anwar said a special task force led by Datuk Seri Johari Ghani will continue pursuing Goldman Sachs for their involvement in the scandal.

He wants the US investment bank to return the remaining funds.

He said although Goldman is cooperating, their cooperation is not satisfactory.

"Goldman is complicit in the whole issue of the 1MDB scandal.

"Although they were cooperating initially in some repatriation of funds…but after looking at the report in detail, we find it necessary to continue engagement with Goldman Sachs to make sure that they are able to pay back some of the dues or losses affecting the people of Malaysia," Anwar said.

"They, unfortunately, have not been so forthcoming recently, therefore I will have to pursue this further," he added.

Earlier, Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, participated in two special sessions at the Milken Institute Asia Summit 2023.

The first one-hour session, 'A Conversation with the Prime Minister of Malaysia' was moderated by Bloomberg's anchor and chief international correspondent for Southeast Asia, Haslinda Amin.

It was then followed by another 45-minute session, 'Malaysia's Investment Outlook: A Conversation between the Prime Minister and Global Investors', which was moderated by Milken Institute's chair of Asia, Robin Hu.

California-headquartered think tank Milken Institute is a non-profit, non-partisan think tank focused on accelerating measurable progress on the path to a meaningful life.

After the summit, Anwar and his wife, Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, were invited to tea by Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

Also present were investment Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz and Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir.

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