PKR today urged government-owned 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) to bring its funds worth billions of ringgit back to the country.

Kelana Jaya MP Wong Chen said the party did not believe that 1MDB could not repatriate an estimated total of RM18 billion worth of funds parked in the Cayman Islands.

1MDB had said that this was due to fears of exposure to currency fluctuations.

As such, the party demanded Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak who is also Finance Minister, to direct 1MDB to return the money to Malaysia before year-end.

Wong said PKR was of the view that the funds parked in Cayman Islands must be in the form of US dollars.

As the ringgit had weakened sharply, Wong said the funds in Cayman Islands had made substantial exchange rate gains since September 2012, which is equivalent to RM0.41 or 13 percent.

“Having made substantial foreign exchange gains, why can’t 1MDB repatriate all its money back to Malaysia?

“The statement by 1MDB director Lodin Wok Kamaruddin that the Cayman Islands monies should remain there is therefore financially illogical,” Wong ( right ) said.

Lodin had justified the parking of more than RM7 billion in Cayman Islands, saying that the funds were placed there initially after a deal with little-known Saudi Arabian company PetroSaudi went sour.

1MDB then converted its investment in PetroSaudi into a loan.

The loan of US$2.38 billion (RM8.33 billion) was paid in full with a profit of US$488 million in 2013, but the funds could not be repatriated to Malaysia immediately due to currency fluctuations, said Lodin.

1MDB, after the police report lodged by Batu Kawan Umno division vice chairperson Khairuddin Abu Hassan, had stated that the company welcomes any investigation into its affairs and  stresses that everything is above board.

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