1MDB said today the RM2 billion put together by Ananda Krishnan's Tanjong PLC for 1MDB to repay its debt was due to an obligation in a previous agreement.

It said this after continuous demands for 1MDB to reveal if Ananda had given the money to the Finance Ministry-owned company for "free" and what the government owed the tycoon in return.

In its response today, 1MDB referred to a previous agreement where Ananda's Tanjong PLC was obligated to subscribe up to RM2 billion in equity in 1MDB's subsidiary, Powertek Investment Holdings Sdn Bhd (PIH).

However, the company said, instead of subscribing to the equity, a subsidiary of Tanjong PLC decided to give 1MDB a loan.

"Regretfully, as previously explained, 1MDB is bound by confidentiality agreements and cannot elaborate further on why the RM2 billion equity investment was subsequently agreed by the parties to become an RM2 billion loan, but we trust that the facts shared above provide some clarity on this matter," 1MDB said in a statement.

'Occurrence of certain event'

The Finance Ministry-owned corporation said the agreement for Tanjong PLC to acquire equity in PIH on the "occurrence of certain event" was spelled out in its financial statement dated March 31, 2014.

"The note states: 'On August 7, 2014 PIH, a subsidiary of the Company (1MDB), entered into a Subscription Agreement with Tanjong under which Tanjong agreed to subscribe for equity in PIH, of up to RM2.0 billion on the occurrence of certain event'."

It said the note further stated that the proceeds shall be specifically used for repayment of 1MDB's RM5.5 billion loan facility.

1MDB did not explain what the "occurrence of certain event" meant.

The cash-strapped 1MDB missed its payment deadlines for the particular tranche of loan, which was first due in November 2014.

It only managed to pay up in February 2015, after Ananda stepped in.