Tommy Thomas: ‘Premature and untrue’ that Malaysia will seek US$4.5bil in damages from Goldman Sachs

(The Star) – Attorney General Tommy Thomas has said that it was “premature and untrue” that Malaysia would be seeking US$4.5bil (RM18.8bil) in damages from Goldman Sachs, refuting an Asia Times article.

When contacted, Thomas did not elaborate on the issue.

The article stated that Thomas is preparing a civil suit against U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs for its role in raising funds that were later misappropriated from the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) fund, and that it will represent the latest legal action taken against Goldman Sachs.

The U.S. investment bank has been under scrutiny for its role in helping raise funds through bond offerings for 11MDB.

Earlier this month during a briefing on Budget 2019, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said that Goldman Sachs should return the US$588mil (RM2.4bil) it was paid for 1MDB-related matters. Lim said the fees were for raising bonds totalling US$6.5 billion (RM23.29 billion) for the Malaysian state investment firm back in 2012 and 2013.

He said that there were consequential losses due to the fees paid, as it had cost Malaysia big losses.