MALAYSIA said a lawsuit Goldman Sachs Group initiated amid festering disagreement involving the multibillion-dollar 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal gives the country a chance to review a contentious settlement it had previously struck with the bank.

Second Finance Minister Amir Hamzah Azizan told the country’s parliament on Tuesday (Mar 19) that the arbitration suit Goldman filed last year in the United Kingdom court “reopens pathways” for parties to take another look at the deal, and “step up efforts to recover assets related to 1MDB.”

The looting of the 1MDB investment fund by officials in Malaysia after Goldman helped it raise money spawned a multibillion-dollar scandal and probes across continents. Months after its initial agreement with Malaysia, Goldman admitted to its role in the biggest foreign bribery case in United States enforcement history, reaching multiple international settlements exceeding US$5 billion.

As part of a 2020 settlement with Malaysia, Goldman was required to make an interim payment of US$250 million if Malaysia did not receive at least US$500 million of 1MDB assets and proceeds by August 2022, according to Goldman. The US bank has said in public filings that it does not believe an interim payment is required – a position that the Malaysian government disputes, prompting Goldman to initiate the lawsuit.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said last year he wants to renegotiate the settlement terms and the bank has not been forthcoming. Malaysia is probing the lawyers who worked on the settlement.

Amir Hamzah said on Tuesday that the government has paid a total of RM48.1 billion(S$13.7 billion) in 1MDB debt as of last year. The only remaining obligation is a five billion ringgit sukuk, or Islamic security, maturing in 2039, he said. BLOOMBERG

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