KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 11 — The 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) task force will continue its efforts to recover assets linked to the 1MDB scandal, as its chairperson, Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani, stated that the dissolution of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) unit, which previously played a significant role in investigating the scandal, holds little significance for Malaysia.
“That is not important to us because our country will continue the recovery process, not only in the United States but also in Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Singapore, and many other countries.
“We are carrying out the recovery efforts, and in the US, we still believe that Goldman Sachs has yet to fully settle its dues with us,” he said in a report published in Berita Harian yesterday.
Johari made these remarks when met after the Malaysian Cocoa Board Excellence Appreciation Ceremony 2025 at The Pacific Sutera Hotel in Kota Kinabalu last night.
On February 7, investigative journalist Bradley Hope revealed that the DOJ, which played a key role in probing the 1MDB scandal, had been ordered to shut down.
The closure of the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative (KARI) and Task Force Klepto Capture was announced by US Attorney General Pam Bondi via an email sent the day before.
Elaborating further, Johari, who is also the minister of plantation industries and commodities, said the matter remains under arbitration.
“It is still in arbitration, so we will wait for the outcome. However, the process will continue as usual.
“There is a dispute regarding the execution agreement that Goldman Sachs had signed with the government.
“They have only paid US$2.5 billion out of the US$4.5 billion. So, we have to fight this through arbitration,” he added.
