Malaysia has received RM340.92mil settlement from KPMG, says Finance Ministry

KUALA LUMPUR: The government has received from KPMG the sum of RM340.92 million (US$80 million) which was deposited into Malaysia’s Assets Recovery Trust Account, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) announced today.

This follows the announcement on Sept 16, 2021 that KPMG has agreed to settle the civil suit filed by 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) against KPMG.

To date, the Trust Account – under the custody of the Accountant General’s Department of Malaysia – has received a total of RM19.138 billion in connection with the 1MDB financial scandal. These funds have been and will be used to settle the outstanding debts of 1MDB, the ministry said.

“The government has repaid RM13.3 billion of 1MDB’s debt so far. As of Dec 31, 2021, 1MDB’s outstanding debt, comprising principal and coupons/profit for bonds and sukuk, amounted to RM38.81 billion,” said Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz in a media statement.

“However, the current balance of the Trust Account is sufficient to pay off only the principal amount of the bonds for 2022. Once all the Trust Account funds are utilised, the government will continue to bear the obligation to pay the balance of 1MDB’s debts, whose issuance was backed by a government guarantee and letter of support,” he added.

Moving forward, the finance ministry said the government is committed to the 1MDB asset recovery efforts, and “will always ensure adequate allocation to settle 1MDB debts in order to manage the national financial burden created by 1MDB.”

MOF also expressed its appreciation to the Attorney General’s Chambers, Securities Commission Malaysia, Bank Negara Malaysia, Royal Malaysian Police Force, the National Financial Crime Prevention Centre, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, and the Governance, Integrity and Anti-Corruption Centre for their efforts in reaching the settlement.-Bernama