Malaysia questions Goldman Sachs lawsuit over 1MDB settlement, saying it's premature

abcnews.go.com:

The Malaysian government has questioned a move by Goldman Sachs to file for arbitration in a dispute connected with the multibillion-dollar looting of a sovereign wealth fund

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — The Malaysian government questioned Thursday a move by Goldman Sachs to file for arbitration in a dispute connected with the multibillion-dollar looting of a sovereign wealth fund.

Johari Abdul Ghani heads a task force to recover assets lost from fund known as 1MDB. He said it’s too early for arbitration since talks are still underway to resolve the conflict and accused the U.S. bank of trying to shift attention away from its payment obligations.

Under a 2020 deal, Goldman Sachs paid Malaysia $2.5 billion to resolve criminal charges over the 1MDB saga. It also guaranteed it would help recover $1.4 billion in 1MDB assets. including $500 million by August 2022. If it failed, it had to cough up $250 million as an interim payment. The two sides are at odds over the interim payment.

Malaysia says Goldman Sachs failed to recover the agreed amount last year and must pay the $250 million. The bank disagreed.

Johari said the government has extended the deadline for talks four times. Malaysia could commence arbitration proceedings if a settlement is not reached by Nov. 8, he said.

“At this juncture… the parties are still considered to be in the amicable good faith discussions stage and therefore as an aggrieved party, the 1MDB task force views Goldman Sachs’ initiation of arbitration proceedings as premature,” he said in a statement.

Separately, the Attorney-General's Chambers said it received an application for arbitration from Goldman Sachs on Wednesday after the bank accused Malaysia of breaches. It denied all the allegations