Referring to this week’s settlement between Putrajaya and Goldman Sachs, which will see US$3.9 billion (RM16.63 billion) returned to Malaysia, Lim said the Pakatan Harapan-led government had claimed US$7.5 billion from the investment bank.

He said the figure included US$1 billion to cover interest.

Yesterday, Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz said Goldman Sachs will pay US$2.5 billion in cash and guarantee at least US$1.4 billion paid from proceeds from assets bought with misappropriated 1MDB funds.

In a statement today, Lim, the former finance minister, said Goldman Sachs is only paying US$2.5 billion cash, with the remaining US$1.4 billion recovered from assets seized by the US Department of Justice.

“If Goldman Sachs is willing to recover the remaining US$4 billion in stolen assets, and not just US$1.4 billion, the Malaysian government can be justified for settling for US$6.5 billion, and forgo the additional US$1 billion of claims in interest servicing cost on our part,” said Lim.

“To forgo the initial US$7.5 billion claim with only US$3.9 billion ignores the huge debt burden of 1MDB.”

Presently, he said, it would appear that Goldman Sachs is only paying US$2.5 billion cash to resolve the matter with Putrajaya.