The Titiwangsa MP and Government Backbenchers’ Club chairman also rejected insinuations that he was involved in a purported plot to assasinate the former prime minister’s character for political mileage.
“I will not allow sideshows by persons with vested interests to derail the task force’s mission of recommending to the government the best possible resolution to the recovery of 1MDB assets,” Johari told FMT.
“I also have no interest in engaging in any political sandiwara (stage show) of accusations and counter-accusations, especially with cowards who make them anonymously on dubious blogs,” he added.
Responding to the publication of a document suggesting he had sought lobbying fees of between US$20 million and US$30 million to spearhead an action to recover higher compensation from the New York-based investment bank for massive losses incurred by 1MDB in three separate bond issues, Johari said:
“That document is full of lies.
“The allegations made against me are simply a mischievous attempt to scuttle important work that the task force is doing to pursue the recovery of stolen public funds and to determine whether those responsible for negotiating the settlement agreement with Goldman Sachs were negligent.
“Clearly, the agreement was not drafted with the government’s best interests in mind even though the government was the aggrieved party.”
Johari denied altogether seeking fees of any nature and for any amount.
“I have no desire to derive any personal benefit,” he insisted.
Johari also denied any knowledge of the existence of the document.
“I categorically deny any involvement in its preparation. Neither was I consulted on its contents,” he said.
“I am also not aware of the tabling of any such document, whether at Cabinet level or before any committee or panel,” he added.
Johari said he did not have any role in Muhyiddin’s administration at the time.
He said he met Muhyiddin, then finance minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz and Attorney-General Idrus Harun on June 30, 2020 at the Prime Minister’s Office to discuss the matter of claiming what is due from Goldman Sachs.
According to Johari, he reduced his proposal to writing and sent it to Muhyiddin three days later, on July 3, 2020. In the proposal, Johari set out his justification for why the government should file a suit against Goldman Sachs in the United States.
“Nowhere in my written proposal was there any reference to ‘lobby fees’ or any other fee which I am accused of seeking,” he said.
Johari said, based on his understanding, Muhyiddin forwarded the proposal to Idrus on July 15, 2020.
However, by July 24, 2020, the government had already signed a “Points of Agreement” document with Goldman Sachs.
This was followed on Aug 18, 2020, by the execution of an agreement embodying the full terms of settlement with the bank.
Johari said he was surprised by the speed at which the settlement was reached.
“The principal payment of the bonds was only due in May 2022, which means there was ample time for the government to negotiate,” said Johari.
Two weeks ago, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said he agreed with the task force’s opinion that the government should be receiving much more in compensation than was agreed.
“From the start, I thought the deal was rushed through. It has raised a lot of questions about the previous administration,” Utusan Malaysia reported Anwar as saying.
In an interview with Bloomberg Television in January, Anwar accused Goldman Sachs of reneging on the terms of the settlement agreement and using its financial might to dictate terms.
On Feb 27, Johari told the Dewan Rakyat that Malaysia had been shortchanged in the settlement. He urged the government to review the settlement and investigate the role of those who negotiated the deal on Putrajaya’s behalf.
On Mar 9, Anwar told Parliament he agreed with Johari’s criticism that the settlement sum of US$2.5 billion (RM11 billion) negotiated by Muhyiddin’s government was too low given the losses were reportedly in the region of US$7 billion (RM31 billion).
The following day, the prime minister announced Johari’s appointment to lead the task force in a bid to “resolve matters” relating to the 1MDB asset recovery.
Criminal convictions have been secured against two senior executives of Goldman Sachs in the United States.
In August 2018, Tim Leissner pleaded guilty to conspiring to launder money in violation of the US’ Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). He is presently awaiting sentencing for his crime.
In March this year, Leissner was ordered by a New York district court to forfeit US$43 million and stock valued at more than US$200 million.
Also in March, Roger Ng, Goldman Sachs’ head of investment banking in Malaysia, was convicted by the same court for his role in looting the Malaysian fund. He was given a 10-year jail sentence.
The court also ordered that US$35.1 million be forfeited from Ng.