DAP lawmaker Tony Pua has called on Putrajaya to reveal the parties who were paid millions of ringgit in commission by 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) when it raised RM15.2 billion in bonds in 2012 and 2013. He was commenting on a report by The Edge Weekly, which revealed that when 1MDB, a government-owned entity, raised its loans, RM1.52 billion was paid out in commissions. What was shocking was the fact that RM630million and RM906million were deducted for certain commissions, fees and expenses. These amounts worked out to a staggering 11.2% and 9.4% of the funds raised. Hence the question, who were paid these certain commissions as stated in the fund-raising document? he said in a press conference at the Parliament lobby today. The Edge report also revealed that the standard fees payable to investment bankers for other entities and governments ranges between only 0.1% and 2%. Tenaga Nasional, the report said, had raised its US$350 million loan by paying only 2% in fees and expenses. How is it that 1MDB, a wholly owned government subsidiary, chaired by none other than the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak himself, have to incur such scandalous cost to raise these funds? Pua asked. He said Goldman Sachs, an investment banking firm, had solely arranged for both of 1MDBs fund-raising exercises. Similar fund-raising exercises done by Goldman Sachs for Equisar International Inc, Apple Inc and the Mexico government amounted to 1.3%, 0.3% and 0.2% respectively, the Edge Weekly had said. Pua questioned if 1MDB was so idiotic to have paid fees of 11.2% and 9.4% instead of the less than 2% paid by the other companies and Mexican government. Or was Goldman Sachs so unethical that it was charging 1MDB more than 10 times its average market rates? I would certainly like to think that 1MDB cannot be so idiotic and neither could Goldman Sachs be so unethical, the Petaling Jaya Utara MP added. He said Najib must come clean and be held accountable for the commissions as the people deserve to know to where the millions of ringgit were channelled. In fact, we would like to challenge Najib to prove us critics wrong, by fully disclosing the detailed breakdown of the specific recipients of the combined RM1.536 billion, to prove that the transactions are entirely above board. – October 27, 2014. themalaysianinsider/malaysia/article/who-earned-rm1.52-billion-from-1mdb-bond-sale-dap-asks
Posted on: Mon, 27 Oct 2014 05:54:17 +0000
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