KUALA LUMPUR – KPMG has paid the Malaysian government some RM340.92 million as part of a civil suit settlement agreement related to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) financial scandal.
The Finance Ministry (MoF) announced that the funds, equivalent to about US$80 million, will be deposited into Malaysia’s Asset Recovery Trust Account, following an announcement by KPMG expressing its intention to settle the suit filed against it.
“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/will be used to settle the outstanding debts of 1MDB,” read the statement.
Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, through the same statement, said the government has repaid RM13.3 billion of 1MDB’s debt so far.
“As of December 31, 2021, 1MDB’s outstanding debt comprising principal and coupons/profit for bonds and Sukuk, amounted to RM38.81 billion,” he said.
Tengku Zafrul however revealed the current balance of the trust account would be sufficient to only pay off the principal amount of the bonds due in 2022, and that anything beyond that amount would come from the country’s coffers.
“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 said.
He added that his ministry will work to ensure adequate allocations to be able to honour 1MDB debts and manage the consequential financial burdens.
In September last year, KPMG had announced its willingness to pay a RM333 million settlement to resolve all claims related to its fiduciary duties on the auditing of 1MDB’s accounts from 2010 to 2012.
Then, in October last year, MoF announced that 1MDB’s total outstanding debt stood at RM32 billion as of the end of June 2021. – The Vibes, January 13, 2022
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