IPIC, Aabar to pay Malaysia US$1.8 billion to settle 1MDB dispute
Abu Dhabi's International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC) and its unit Aabar Investments PJS have agreed to pay US$1.8 billion (RM8.06 billion) to settle a legal dispute involving 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), the Finance Ministry said on Monday.
Malaysia in 2018 had filed a challenge in a London court against a settlement agreement between 1MDB and IPIC that had been negotiated a year earlier during the administration of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak.
Najib was sentenced to 12 years in jail last year after being found guilty in a 1MDB-related corruption case.
In its challenge, Malaysia argued that the 2017 settlement was procured by fraud.
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The Finance Ministry said on Monday that the Abu Dhabi companies, 1MDB, and Malaysia’s Minister of Finance (Incorporated) had reached a settlement in respect of proceedings in the London Court of International Arbitration and the London High Court.
Read more: Claiming RM26.6b in a 'court' that is not a court
"With this settlement, Malaysia and Abu Dhabi look forward to continuing working together for the prosperity and economic benefit of both countries in the future," the ministry said in a statement.
Clifford Chance LLP, a London-based law firm for IPIC and Aabar, in a statement, said the firms had agreed to pay the settlement figure in three phases: US$800 million within seven days from the end of the London proceedings, and the remainder within two years of the termination.
Malaysia's 1MDB is the subject of corruption and money-laundering investigations in at least six countries.
An estimated US$4.5 billion was misappropriated from 1MDB by high-level officials of the fund and their associates between 2009 and 2014, the US Justice Department has alleged.
- Reuters
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