Report: M'sia to nudge Dubai towards settlement, compensation over 1MDB
Putrajaya is expected to persuade the United Arab Emirates towards settling a legal dispute related to 1MDB, according to a report by Singapore's Straits Times.
The newspaper, citing anonymous financial executives and lawyers with knowledge of the matter, said Malaysia's position would include pushing for "financial compensation".
Putrajaya is expected to persuade the United Arab Emirates (UAE) towards settling a legal dispute related to 1MDB, according to a report by Singapore's Straits Times.
The newspaper, citing anonymous financial executives and lawyers with knowledge of the matter, said Malaysia's position would include pushing for "financial compensation".
Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, said the report, will be heading to Dubai this week to "hammer out a compromise" to a legal challenge filed by Malaysia in a London court over an arbitration award which favoured the emirate's International Petroleum Investment Company (Ipic).
In 2017, the London International Arbitration Court granted a consent award in which Malaysia had to pay US$5.78 billion (RM24.15 billion at today's rate) to Ipic over its deal with 1MDB.
The Pakatan Harapan-led administration challenged the consent award in October 2018 on grounds that 1MDB's deal with Ipic was the result of fraud.
At the time, US$1.46 billion (RM6.1 billion) had already been paid to Ipic and periodical payments must be made until April 2022.
Both the deal with Ipic and the settlement agreement were agreed upon when Najib Abdul Razak was prime minister and finance minister.
On Aug 3, former political secretary to the finance minister and Damansara MP Tony Pua alleged that Malaysia's legal challenge may be under threat by the present Perikatan Nasional administration and has urged Hishammuddin to come clean on the matter.
While Hishammuddin has kept mum, attorney-general Idrus Harun said that court proceedings in London to nullify the 2017 settlement agreement have yet to be withdrawn.
Last month, Putrajaya reached a settlement with Goldman Sachs over another 1MDB-related deal which saw the bank agreeing to return US$3.9 billion in cash and assets, down from the US$7.5 billion sought by the Harapan administration.
In exchange, Malaysia dropped charges against the bank, which helped raise US$6.5 billion for 1MDB. Much of the money was alleged to have been misappropriated, including, according to prosecutors, partly ending up in Najib's bank accounts.
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