Govt paid RM1.7b last year to service 1MDB debt interests

The government forked out a total of RM1.7 billion to service 1MDB loan interests last year, including over RM400 million from the country's development allocation.

This was according to the Auditor-General's Report on the Federal Government's financial statement for the year 2021.

"Last year, (the government) paid out RM1.7 billion to service the company's loan interests using RM0.459 billion from the development allocation and another RM1.241 billion from the Assets Recovery Trust Account.

"The trust account balance as of December 31, 2021, stood at RM15.281 billion," the report said.

The report was presented to the Parliament today. A soft copy of the full report has also been made available on the department's website.

According to the report, the government guarantees on 1MDB loans were at a total of RM32.073 billion as of Dec 31 last year.

Of the total amount, RM14.578 billion principal will mature this year, RM12.495 billion next year, and the other RM5 billion will expire in 2039.

"Until the maturity of the loans, the commitment to service loan interests are estimated to be at RM1.705 billion a year," it said.

In August, Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz reportedly said that the government is set to pay RM1.57 billion in interest for 1MDB debts for the year 2022. - Mkini