MONEY MASTER

Goldman Sachs Group Inc is being accused in a lawsuit of selling out a client to curry favor with Prime Minister Najib Razak at a time when the bank has already been under scrutiny by regulators over its fundraising for the embattled 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB). Goldman and former managing director Tim Leissner allegedly betrayed their duties as financial adviser of EON Capital Bhd, which was taken over by Hong Leong Bank Bhd. for $1.7 billion in May 2011. Goldman used EON’s confidential information to help the bank buy EON on the cheap knowing that Najib’s brother served as a board member and another brother chaired the investment firm advising the bank, Primus Pacific Partners 1 LP said in the complaint. (Source: Bloomberg) Spokesman for Goldman said lawsuit as "misguided" Primus Pacific, EON’s biggest shareholder after buying a stake of more than 20 percent in 2008, unsuccessfully sued twice to block the sale, arguing that Hong Leong’s takeover price ...

1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) has made a media statement, saying that  its audited financial statements for 2013 and 2014 shouldn’t be relied on after U.S. prosecutors said more than $3.5 billion was misappropriated from the fund during a period that included those years. "Whilst the Board  remains confident that no wrongdoing has been committed by 1MDB and that the past audited financial statements continue to show a true and fair view of the company’s affairs at the relevant points in time, the Board has decided that, as a precautionary measure, the 2013 and 2014 audited financial statements of 1MDB should no longer be relied on by any party, pending final and conclusive determination by a court of law of certain alleged facts, as described in the Complaint." 1MDB also said its auditor Deloitte LLP is resigning and the company is seeking a replacement, according to an e-mailed statement on Tuesday.  It didn’t give a reason for the departure but said that D...

Abu Dhabi's state-owned International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC) said it would make a US$50.3 million interest payment to holders of notes issued by Malaysian state fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), but only after 1MDB defaults on its payments. A default by 1MDB will occur if the troubled Malaysian sovereign fund fails to make a payment on the 1MDB Energy (Langat) Ltd bond before Monday, April 25, IPIC said in a filing to the London Stock Exchange on Monday. IPIC guarantees the bond. The coupon on the US$1.75 billion bond was due on April 18, but terms of the bond gave a five-day period of grace for the payment, which ends Monday. The Abu Dhabi fund said neither 1MDB Energy (Langat) nor 1MDB have made the payment so far. It said the guarantee has not been called upon yet. "As at the time of this announcement, IPIC is not aware of the Guarantee being called upon. IPIC has always honoured its obligations arising from any agreements it has entered in to ...

1MDB back in the news The International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC) which have a mixed debt-swap agreement with 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) yesterday, is demanding that 1MDB should pay back the USD 1.1 billion owed to it. The Gulf emirate’s International Petroleum Investment Company (Ipic) ended its relationship with its Southeast Asian counterpart in a filing to the London Stock Exchange on Monday.  The Abu Dhabi fund said 1MDB and Malaysia’s ministry of finance were in default on the deal, including an obligation to pay $1.1bn plus interest, and that 1MDB continued to be bound by its commitments under the agreement.  With this new development, 1MDB, which is already a target of global investigations into allegations of money laundering and embezzlement, has another major problem: It now faces the risk of sinking into default. The development leaves 1MDB’s bondholders waiting for an interest payment, due Monday, that may never come. The A...