PRESS RELEASE
Wong Chen
Member of Parliament for Kelana Jaya
IPIC-1MDB Settlement to be borne by Malaysian Taxpayers
The settlement reached between IPIC and 1MDB today is a fair deal for Abu Dhabi but a very bad deal for Malaysian taxpayers. Malaysian taxpayers via the Ministry of Finance (MoF) are now exposed to more than US$6 billion (RM26.4 billion) in payments to IPIC for the financial scandals of 1MDB, where not a single person has been arrested by the Malaysian authorities.
Contrary to what will surely be portrayed in the local government media as a settlement that favours Malaysia's interests, the announcement by IPIC in the London Stock Exchange today proved otherwise, that IPIC got exactly what it asked for and what it was legally entitled to.
In June 2016, IPIC instituted legal proceedings to recover approximately US$6.5 billion from 1MDB. Reuters reported on the matter on 14th June 2016 and provided the breakdown of the claim: "IPIC is claiming the $3.5 billion bond plus interest that amounts to $4.8 billion, the $1.2 billion loan plus interest, and about $481 million owed to Aabar -- adding up to $6.5 billion, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters."
The settlement announced today is substantially the same as IPIC's original demand in 2016, save for possibly of some minor waiver of interests. IPIC will get their US$1.2 billion in two tranches of US$603 million each in July 2017 and December 2017. More importantly, MoF will also undertake to pay all interest and principal payments from the US$3.5 billion bond which now must surely amount to more than US$4.8 billion. The settlement however makes no mention on the US$481 million owed to Aabar.
While Abu Dhabi has taken proper actions to remove from IPIC and freeze the accounts of Mr Qubaisi and Mr Husseiny, and in addition, arrested Mr Qubaisi, all the people on the Malaysian side responsible for the world's biggest ever kleptocracy case, remain free from any actions whatsoever by the Malaysian authorities.
This settlement serves to only benefit the infamous Malaysian Official 1, Prime Minister Najib Razak and his friends. The settlement essentially allows Najib Razak to avoid a trial which would have opened a gigantic can of worms. Instead of justice and closure, this settlement today further ingrains the culture of corruption and impunity in Malaysia at the expense of the people.
Wong Chen
MP for Kelana Jaya
24th April 2017
DAP Tony Pua dan Wong Chen adalah penipu.
1MDB tidak "membayar dua kali ganda" kepada IPIC.
1. 1MDB hanya pernah membayar AS$3.5 bilion kepada IPIC dalam pelbagai bayaran yang IPIC pada mulanya menafikan. Sekarang IPIC dengan jelas telah mengakui dalam satu kenyataan mereka bahawa bayaran itu ada.
Dalam satu kenyataan Bursa Saham London IPIC, mereka menulis:
"Pihak-pihak juga telah bersetuju untuk memasuki perbincangan dengan niat yang baik berhubung kepada pembayaran yang dibuat oleh 1MDB Group kepada entiti tertentu."
Ini bermakna bon AS$3.5 bilion itu akan diselesaikan berdasarkan kepada wang dari bayaran-bayaran tersebut.
1MDB juga tidak melepaskan hak untuk menyaman IPIC jika tiada persetujuan dicapai berkenaan pembayaran ini menjelang tahun 2020.
2. 1MDB tidak pernah membayar tambahan AS$2.5 bilion kepada IPIC dan tidak akan membayar AS$2.5 bilion kepada IPIC.
1MDB akan menggunakan wang yang akan dijana daripada unit dana AS$2.5 bilion yang sedia ada yang telah dijamin oleh Aabar.
Ini adalah cara bagaimana AS$2.5 bilion itu akan digunakan:
a) Membayar balik IPIC AS$ 1.2 bilion yang merangkumi AS$1 bilion yang mereka bayar kepada 1MDB pada bulan Jun 2015 dan AS$200 juta yang telah IPIC bayar untuk faedah ke atas bon AS$3.5 bilion pada tahun lepas.
b) 1MDB akan menyimpan AS$1.3 bilion yang selebihnya untuk membayar faedah ke atas bon AS$3.5 bilion sehingga tarikh matang.
Terdapat sedikit perbezaan dari penyelesaian yang diumumkan semalam dengan persetujuan pertukaran aset pada bulan Jun 2015.
Mengikut perjanjian asal, tiada wang yang datang dari MOF sama sekali.
Jadi, bagaimana Tony Pua dan Wong Chen menyimpulkan bahawa 1MDB telah membayar dua kali ganda?
