I have written in statement dated 22 May 2018 that the Ministry of Finance (MoF) has since April 2017 made payments on behalf of 1MDB amounting to RM6.98 billion. The figure has yet to include another RM954 million to be paid before the end of this year. These payments are tantamount to a major bailout of 1MDB.
Former Prime Minister, Dato’ Seri Najib Razak wrote on his Facebook on Friday evening that it is “wrong to call it a bail out of 1MDB”.
Essentially, he argued that 1MDB had transferred all of its real estate assets, including Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) and Bandar Malaysia to the MoF per the recommendation made by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). Hence the above payments should be rightly construed as ‘compensation’ to 1MDB.
Dato’ Seri Najib Razak could not be more wrong in making the presumption.
1. The transfer of these assets back to MoF in April 2017 was NOT a “sale and purchase” transaction, nor should it be. The MoF officials have confirmed that there was also no such S&P agreement executed to the effect. This is consistent with the PAC recommendation.
The PAC had found that 1MDB had no financial means or ability to develop, or even sell these parcels of land. Hence MoF should take over these projects to ensure their continued viability.
2. The former Finance and Prime Minister must not forget the fact these parcels of land were originally sold by the Government to 1MDB at bargain basement prices between 2010 to 2012.
a. The 70 acres TRX was sold to 1MDB for RM230 million, or approximately RM74 per square feet (psf).
b. The 486 acres Bandar Malaysia was sold to 1MDB for RM1.6 billion, or approximately RM72psf.
Why should the MoF compensate 1MDB to the tune of tens of billions of ringgit as asserted by Dato’ Seri Najib Razak, when MoF took back the land with hardly any development carried out in these projects?
3. Let me also remind the former Prime Minister that the MoF did not take over these entities “for free”.
a. When MoF took over TRX City Sdn Bhd, it came attached with a RM800 million loan from SOCSO which is due in 2020.
b. When MoF took over Bandar Malaysia Sdn Bhd, it came attached with a RM2.4 billion sukuk.
It should also be noted that the Auditor General, in his report on 1MDB has confirmed that the above borrowings were not used for the purposes intended, i.e., they were not used for the development of the above projects. This was confirmed by the 1MDB President, Arul Kanda himself, when he testified to the PAC.
Hence, if anything, MoF should be claiming compensation from 1MDB for also assuming these liabilities, not the other way around.
4. In addition, MoF has already made additional payments to, or on behalf of 1MDB with regards to the above projects.
a. MoF, via its wholly-owned subsidiary Aroma Teraju, had acquire 2.3 acres of land from TRX in September 2015 for the sum of RM250 million.
b. MoF has refunded the deposit amounting to RM741 million on behalf of 1MDB to the consortium led by Iskandar Waterfront Holdings Sdn Bhd after the Bandar Malaysia sale and purchase agreement was terminated in May 2017. This was because 1MDB had already used up the deposit paid for other purposes and did not have the money to refund the deposit paid by the consortium.
5. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the RM6.98 billion paid by MoF on behalf of 1MDB are in relation to borrowings completely unrelated to the above real estate projects. The payments were instead made for:
a. Servicing the coupon interest of RM5 billion 30-year bond issued in 2009 which was mainly used for 1MDB’s failed investment with Petrosaudi International Limited.
b. Servicing the coupon interest for US$3.5 billion worth of 10-year bonds issued in May and October 2012, which were intended for the acquisition of power plant assets. These assets have since been disposed and their proceeds completely utilised. The bonds however still remain in the company.
c. Servicing the coupon interest for US$3 billion of 10-year bonds issued in March 2013, which were intended for the development of TRX. However, as reported by the Auditor-General, the funds raised were never utilised to develop TRX.
d. Repay in full the US$1.2 billion of advance from Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Corporation (IPIC) which was taken in April 2015 to repay US$975 million of borrowings from a Deutsche Bank-led consortium.
Therefore, why should any returns from the real estate projects which were originally acquired cheap from the Government, be used to cover up the financial holes created by all of 1MDB’s other financial misadventures and shenanigans?
Hence, given all of the above facts and figures, there could be no other description for the RM6.98 billion worth of payments by MoF on behalf of 1MDB to date, other than to describe it as the single largest bailout in history carried out by the Government of Malaysia.
Instead of trying to spend time debating as to whether the above payments were a bailout or otherwise by MoF, it would perhaps be more productive and fruitful for Dato’ Seri Najib Razak to explain account for where all of the following 1MDB funds have gone to:
(i) US$1.83 billion invested with Petrosaudi International Limited between 2009 and 2011?
(ii) US$3.5 billion raised in 2012 for the purposes of acquiring power plants in Malaysia; and
(iii) US$3 billion raised in 2013 for the purposes of investing in TRX
The MoF will work hand-in-glove with the 1MDB Special Committee set up by the Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir to uncover the complete truth behind the 1MDB in order to (i) recover as much of the lost and stolen funds as possible to plug the debts and deficits created by the Najib administration and (ii) punish those who are responsible for the worst scandal ever in Malaysia.
—-Mandarin Version —
拿督斯里纳吉应该要为一马公司丑闻负起责任。
我曾在2018年5月22日发表声明，指财政部自2017年4月开始，便一直为一马公司偿还高达69亿8000万令吉的款项。这笔款项还没有包括必须在今年底支付的9亿5400万令吉，这些付款相等于政府伸手“拯救”一马公司的举措。
前首相拿督斯里纳吉于星期五傍晚，在其面子书撰文驳斥，说还债不是”拯救”一马公司。
基本上，纳吉指出，前朝政府根据国会公共账目委员会的建议，把一马公司的资产转移到财政部机构旗下公司。财政部机构接管资产后，也必须负责一马公司的债务。因此，上述政府所偿还的债务是一种对一马公司的“赔偿”。
拿督斯里纳吉的假设大错特错。
1. 上述在2017年4月转移给财政部的资产，不是“买卖”交易，它也不是一场买卖。财政部官员也已经确认，这宗交易完全没有合法的买卖合同。这与公共账目委员会的建议一致。
公账会发现一马公司没有财政收入也没有能力发展甚至售卖这些土地，因此财政部应该接手这些项目，以确保他们的持续性。
2. 前财政部长兼首相不应该忘记，这些土地是政府在2010-2012年期间，以超级便宜的价格售卖给一马公司的，
a. 政府把敦拉萨国际贸易中心（TRX）70英亩土地以2亿3000万令吉出售给一马公司，卖价约每平方尺74令吉
b. 政府把大马城486英亩土地以16亿令吉出售给一马公司，卖价约为每平方尺72令吉。
当财政部拿回的土地的时候，根本没怎么看到有任何进行中的发展计划，凭什么财政部要如纳吉所说，需要赔偿一马公司几十亿令吉？
3. 让我提醒前首相，财政部并不是“免费”接管这些土地的。
a. 当财政部接管敦拉萨国际贸易中心城市有限公司，这家公司当时尚欠大马社会保险机构的8亿令吉贷款，上述贷款偿还期限为2020年。
b. 当财政部接管大马城有限公司时，也承担到期的24亿令吉伊斯兰债券（sukuk）。
值得一提的是，总稽查司在其关于1MDB的报告中确认，上述借款并未用于预期的目的，即未用于开发以上的种种项目。 而1MDB主席阿鲁甘达亲自向公账会作证时也证实了这一点。
因此，财政部应该反过来向1MDB要求赔偿，因为还必须承担上述的债务，而非反其道而行。
4. 然而，财政部当时终究替1MDB就上述项目做出了额外付款。
a. 财政部透过其底下的全资子公司Aroma Teraju，在2015年9月从敦拉萨国际贸易中心收购了2.3英亩土地，总额为2.5亿令吉
b. 2017年5月，当大马城的买卖合约被终止后，财政部替1MDB偿还了一笔为数7亿4100万令吉的抵押金予以依斯干达海滨控股为主的财团。这是因为1MDB已经挪用有关抵押金至其他地方，导致无法偿还这笔金额予该财团。
c. 除了财政部做出上述的“贡献”外，1MDB还将敦拉萨国际贸易中心的两笔土地脱售予政府旗下的机构，从而赚取了惊人的利润:
i. 2015年4月，将1.57英亩的土地以1亿8850万令吉的价格（约每平方英尺2750令吉）售予朝圣基金局; 以及
ii. 2015年8月，将一笔1.25英亩的土地以2亿5500万令吉的价格脱售给大马武装部队基金局旗下子公司艾芬银行。
5. 最后，也许最重要的是，财政部2017年4月至今替1MDB偿还的69.8亿令吉，事实上完全与上述地产项目无关。这些钱乃是用来：
a. 支付利息予2009年发行，为期30年并总值50亿令吉的债券。这是1MDB与沙地石油国际的失败投资。
b. 支付利息予2012年5月及10月发行，为期10年总值达35亿美金的债劵。这原是为了收购发电厂资产。有关资产已经被处置，其收益被完全利用。但债券仍然留在公司。
c. 支付利息予2013年3月发行，为期10年价值达30亿美金的债劵。这乃是为敦拉萨国际贸易中心的发展而推行的。但是，根据总稽查司的报告，筹集的资金从未用于开发敦拉萨国际贸易中心。
d. 偿还阿布扎比国际石油投资公司（IPIC）12亿美元的预付款，该贷款始于2015年4月，目的用于偿还德意志银行牵头的财团提供的9.75亿美元借款。
因此，为何要将从政府手中廉价征得的土地，再转售回给政府机构赚取丰厚的回报，用于掩盖1MDB其他金融失误和丑恶行为所造成的财务漏洞？
考虑到上述所有的事实和数据，截至目前为止，财政部代表一马公司偿还的69亿8000万令吉，除了将之形容为马来西亚空前最巨额的政府单一拯救计划以外，可能就没有更适合的形容词了。
拿督斯里纳吉与其浪费时间辩论有关财政部的付款到底是不是用来拯救一马公司，他更应该老老实实地解释以下这些1MDB的资金到底消失到哪去：
(i) 2009年至 2011年间，投资在沙地石油国际公司（ Petrosaudi International Limited）的18亿3000万美元
(ii) 在2012年，为收购马来西亚发电厂而募集的35亿美元； 以及
(iii) 在2013年为投资敦拉萨国际贸易中心（TRX）而筹集的30亿美元资金。
财政部将与首相敦马哈迪医生所设立的1MDB特别委员会密切合作，以便揭露1MDB背后的全部真相，并（i）尽最大可能将损失和被盗资金收回，以填补纳吉政府所带来的债务和赤字，以及（ii）对那些造成马来西亚有史以来最严重丑闻者进行惩处。
马来西亚财政部长
林冠英
2018年5月27日发表于布城