Hacker News Reader

> I find their interpretation of the story to be far more believable

I don't think the Malaysian prosecutors are disputing that the (previous) Malaysian government was corrupt. They arrested Najib Razak (the PM during the 1MDB project), as well as other officials. But they're also saying that GS has a partial responsibility. And given the numbers provided in the news article I don't find it hard to believe.

View on HN

My more cynical take: the current government is also corrupt, and GS won't do their money laundering anymore. So they'll take $7.5B from it (if they figure out how) and then it will also disappear into their pockets. Just watch.

Any reason to believe this, or just Devil's advocating?

Because there's simply no way an honest person will ever become a member of that government. And even if, by miracle, they do, the pay is so laughably bad, they won't be able to survive, let alone prosper. The entire structure of the government is based on the "understanding" that money will just "disappear" from time to time. Merely changing the top bosses changes nothing, and if anything the new ones have a more ravenous appetite.

I know it might be difficult for US or Canadian natives to understand this. But people from most of the rest of the world know exactly what I'm talking about.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com