He said the money received by the government from refunds and claim settlements should have been enough to cover 1MDB’s principal debt.
He said this in response to comments by finance minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz that the 1MDB debt was among the reasons the government had to dip into the National Trust Fund to pay for Covid-19 vaccines.
But Najib said the reality of the situation was far different. The money raised by the government should have been enough to cover 1MDB’s principal debt, he said.
He added that when Barisan Nasional lost the 2018 general election, 1MDB’s debts stood at RM32.2 billion, and were now RM32.3 billion.
| TOTAL OWED by 1MDB | RM33.4 Billion |
|
MONEY COLLECTED BY GOVT
| |
| Money returned by the US Justice Department | RM2.7 billion |
| Sale of the Equanimity superyacht | RM523 million |
| Riza Aziz settlement | RM443 million |
| Goldman Sachs settlement | RM16.1 billion |
| Ambank settlement | RM2.83 billion |
| Deloitte settlement | RM324 million |
| Sale of 60% of Bandar Malaysia in 2019 | RM7.41 billion |
| Sale of Pulau Indah land owned by 1MDB | RM416 million |
| Sale of Penang land owned by 1MDB | RM2.7 billion |
| TOTAL |
RM33.4 billion
|
However, the government had recovered or raised more than that since that election, he said.
The total of these returned funds came to RM33.4 billion. “Where did this money go and why was it not used to fully settle 1MDB’s RM32.3 billion debt?” he said.
Najib said further settlements are being negotiated, such as those with audit firms KPMG and Wong & Partners, and a RM21 billion settlement with Abu Dhabi and IPIC, and the sale of the Exchange 106 tower, which he said was yet to be announced.
He added that 1MDB still had a number of high value assets to its name, such as eight upgraded defence ministry bases (RM2.7 billion), the remaining 40% stake in Bandar Malaysia (40% of the RM140 billion gross development value) and 100% of Tun Razak Exchange (gross development value of RM40 billion).
“1MDB’s debt is burdensome but as to the RM33.4 billion and the remaining assets of 1MDB which are still worth hundreds of billions of ringgit – do they not ease the burden?” he said.