Goldman Sachs should pay for cost to country, says Anwar

KUALA LUMPUR: PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim believes Goldman Sachs should return more than the US$600mil it was paid by the Malaysian government for the 1 Malaysia Development Bhd bond sales.

Acccording to the Financial Times, Anwar lambasted the investment firm's role in the scandal and said it should make additional payment for tarnishing the country's image and for burdening the government with debt.

"It’s a cost to the image of the country, it’s a cost to investments and now it’s a burden shouldered by the government because of the complicity of so many of these so-called credible, renowned financial institutions," said Anwar.

"For them to use a country like Malaysia — which is struggling to reform itself economically, moving up the ladder — really, to me, it’s disgusting.”

This was a reiteration of Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng's call for Goldman Sachs to return "much more" than just the monies paid for its services to 1MDB, citing consequential losses from the payments.

Goldman Sachs has been under fire on several fronts for its alleged role in the 1MDB scandal. On Nov 21, International Petroleum Investment Co filed a legal suit against Goldman Sachs for bribing IPIC employees to further its illegal scheme in connection with 1MDB.

The investment firm's share price has declined about 24% year-to-date with Morgan Stanley recently cutting its recommendation on the counter to "equal weight".