Malaysia To Goldman: Pay Us $7.5 Billion And We Will Drop 1MDB Charge

The Malaysian government has a message for Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon: Your disingenuous, blame-deflecting apology for Goldman's role in one of the biggest financial frauds ever perpetrated in Asia isn't going to cut it.

According to Bloomberg, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng told reporters on Friday that Malaysian prosecutors might consider dropping the criminal charges brought last month against the bank, several Asian subsidiaries and two of its employees (who have also been indicted in the US) if the bank agrees to pay back the total amount that the Malaysian government believes was looted during the fraud.

That amount? A staggering $7.5 billion.

"Goldman Sachs should understand the agony and the trauma suffered by the Malaysian people as a result of the 1MDB scandal," Lim said in the administrative capital of Putrajaya. "An apology is just not sufficient. Not enough. There must be the necessary reparations and compensations."

Earlier this week, Solomon apologized to the Malaysian people during an earnings call with analysts, where he blamed senior banker Tim Leissner (who is now believed to be cooperating with federal authorities to testify about the bank's "culture of corruption") for the scandal and claimed Malaysia was “defrauded by many individuals" who - as was implied - just happened to work at Goldman Sachs.

Lim characterized Solomon's apology as "insufficient", presumably because media reports have revealed that senior Goldman execs, including former CEO Lloyd Blankfein blithely ignored concerns raised by the bank's compliance department and did everything in their power to court Malaysia's business (Blankfein himself was involved in several meetings with then-Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is now awaiting trial on corruptoin charges, and fugitive financier Jho Low, who is believed to have masterminded the scheme).

Goldman earned $600 million in fees on the $6.5 billion in bonds it underwrote for 1MDB, which was launched by Razak as a sovereign wealth fund intended to fund public works projects.

"At least he accepted that they have to bear and shoulder some responsibility," Lim said, referring to Solomon. "That apology of course goes some way toward that, but that is insufficient."

While Leissner is cooperating with authorities in the US, his former subordinate, senior Asian banker Roger Ng, is being held in Malaysia.

Of course, Lim, as the country's finance minister, isn't authorized to cut deals with Goldman. That authority is reserved by Attorney General Tommy Thomas, the country's top prosecutor, who brought the criminal case against Goldman.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-01-18/malaysia-offers-drop-goldmans-1mdb-charges-if-bank-pays-75-billion-fine

"Dassault Laughed All Way To Bank": P Chidambaram's Dig On Rafale Deal

P Chidambaram repeated Congress' demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the Rafale deal

New Delhi:

The Rafale jet deal negotiated by the BJP-led government in 2015 was a windfall for French aircraft-maker Dassault, Congress leader P Chidambaram said today, citing an investigative piece by the Hindu newspaper that said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision to buy 36 fighter jets instead of 126 - negotiated by the Congress-led government - raised the price of each aircraft by over 41 per cent.

Mr Chidambaram alleged that the government paid Euro 25 million more per aircraft compared to the price negotiated by the Congress-led UPA. This means India would pay Rs. 186 crore more per aircraft, at the 2016 exchange rate, he said.

"This is my calculation depending on new facts. It seems Dassault is laughing all the way to the bank. The government has wronged the country in two ways. First, it has compromised national security by denying the Air Force 90 aircraft they desperately need. Second, it has purchased two squadrons that will cost euro 25 million more per aircraft. At the 2016 exchange rate, Euro 25 million is equal to Rs. 186 crore," he said.

"I have done this analysis in the time I had. It will require a little more time. I think the procedure was rushed through. I never heard of decisions taken based on a 4:3 vote," Mr Chidambaram remarked.

https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/p-chidambaram-dig-on-rafale-deal-dassault-laughed-all-way-to-bank-1979726?pfrom=home-topscroll

Jamie Dimon Earned $32.5 Billion Last Year, His Largest Payday Since 2007

Days after JP Morgan's Q4 earnings missed on seemingly every metric aside from compensation (which came in right at the top of the range), the bank has confirmed that CEO Jamie Dimon earned $31 million in compensation during 2018, a 5.1% increase from the prior year and his second-biggest annual haul ever.

To be sure, while JPM posted abysmal FICC trading results and other results that were "very un-JP Morgan like," as one analyst put it, the bank notched the highest profit in US banking history in 2018, thanks to Trump's tax reform plan, which has helped lift earnings across Wall Street (the bank took home $32.5 billion).

The bank also benefited from rising interest rates and its booming credit card business (unsurprising, as consumer debt has ballooned to all-time highs).

Here's a breakdown of Dimon's pay package, courtesy of Bloomberg:

Dimon’s pay package included $24.5 million of restricted stock tied to performance, an annual base salary of $1.5 million and a $5 million cash bonus, the New York-based bank said Thursday in a regulatory filing.

Dimon is currently overseeing a plan to expand JPM's retail-banking business into more states, while building a new headquarters in Manhattan.

The CEO's pay for 2018 was second only to the $49.9 million he earned during 2007, two years after taking the reins at the bank. Dimon promised in January to remain CEO for at least five more years. According to the Wall Street Journal, which cited data from MyLogIQ, the median pay for the 43 banking and financial CEOs was $12.1 million, which was in line with the median pay for the S&P 500 as a whole. Despite the drop in trading revenue, JPM reported EPS of $1.98 a share during Q4.

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My bank can't perform but I need all of this

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-01-18/jamie-dimon-earned-325-billion-last-year-his-largest-payday-2007

>>4804185

>>4804250

>>4804256

Sorry for your loss. Knew a few people who were severely intimidated but not that.

Agree 1000%

No one person needs this amount of money

>>4804278

the 'earnings' were nothing moar than shifting scenarios around via the in-house models of valuations and then applying those to wherever they wanted.

It's an old, tired game.

"we did not lose this much in credit obligations so we are just going to take that amount and apply it to the p/l"

Effectively that is what the report consists of.

Sure they made some money but a spotless trading record with massive insider information will do that for you.

>>4804270

Court martial too easy. I prefer this