经济学人:1MDB:巨大的金融丑闻(1)

 　　Asia 亚洲

　　1MDB: Cleaning up 1MDB：清算

　　A mammoth¹ financial scandal is being brushed under the carpet. 一桩巨大的金融丑闻正悄然发生。

　　For the past year 1MDB—a Malaysian state investment firm at the heart of one of the world's biggest financial scandals—has been locked in dispute with IPIC,  一年来，1MDB（马来西亚国有投资公司，它正身陷世界上最大的金融丑闻之一）和IPIC

　　a sovereign-wealth fund from the oil-rich emirate of Abu Dhabi, with which it was once chummy. （阿布扎比-产油酋长国之一的一家主权财富基金）正陷入纠纷，此前它与IPIC关系亲密。

　　Terse² statements released on April 24th suggest the pair are finally making up. 4月24日发布的简短声明，暗示双方终于和解。

　　1MDB has agreed to pay IPIC $1.2bn, reportedly to settle a complaint that it reneged on the terms of a bail-out IPIC provided in 2015. 1MDB同意支付IPIC12亿美元，据悉该公司已就其违反2015年向IPIC缴纳一项保释金的条款达成了和解。

　　The two companies have also agreed to enter into “good-faith discussions” about other disputed payments, which may total as much as $3.5bn. 关于其他有争议的款项，两家公司同意进行“诚意磋商”，总金额高达35亿美元。

　　Past dealings between 1MDB and IPIC are a focus for investigators³ hunting huge sums that have gone missing from the Malaysian state-owned company since its founding in 2009. 1MDB和IPIC的往来交易成为焦点，因为调查员正在搜寻一笔巨额款项，这笔钱是2009年创立的马来西亚国有公司的钱。

　　In 2012 IPIC offered to guarantee loans that 1MDB needed to acquire two power firms. 2012年 IPIC因为1MDB需要收购两家电力公司，为其提供了担保贷款。

　　But IPIC said last year that it had never received collateral⁴ and other monies supposedly due to it under this deal. 但IPIC去年表示，在这个交易中，它从未收到过任何抵押和其他款项。

　　Instead 1MDB appears to have wired payments to an account held by an unrelated shell company registered in the British Virgin⁵ Islands,  然而1MDB表示已经支付，它支付的账户是一个注册地在英属维京群岛的空壳公司，

　　which had adopted a name similar to that of one of IPIC's subsidiaries. 该公司名称和IPIC的子公司名称相似。

1 mammoth   

n.长毛象；adj.长毛象似的，巨大的

参考例句：

• You can only undertake mammoth changes if the finances are there.资金到位的情况下方可进行重大变革。
• Building the new railroad will be a mammoth job.修建那条新铁路将是一项巨大工程。

2 terse   

adj.(说话，文笔)精炼的，简明的

参考例句：

• Her reply about the matter was terse.她对此事的答复简明扼要。
• The president issued a terse statement denying the charges.总统发表了一份简短的声明，否认那些指控。

3 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 collateral   

adj.平行的；旁系的；n.担保品

参考例句：

• Many people use personal assets as collateral for small business loans.很多人把个人财产用作小额商业贷款的抵押品。
• Most people here cannot borrow from banks because they lack collateral.由于拿不出东西作为抵押，这里大部分人无法从银行贷款。

5 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。