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Errant Culture

The bank is in hot water over the issue not just because it is financially dicey: long-time former partner Tim Leissner is believed to have tattled on Goldman to prosecutors as part of a plea deal. Leissner, a German-born banker married to former model and designer Kimora Lee Simmons (the couple is pictured below), admitted money-laundering, bribery and kickbacks.

Tim Leissner Kimora Lee Simmons 500

(Image: Instagram Kimora Lee Simmons L.)

He laid blame for the wrong-doing at Goldman’s door, saying the investment bank’s culture implicitly encouraged whatever it took to get business. According to «Billion Dollar Whale,» Leissner considered Jho Low «dodgy» in 2009, but put aside his doubts in favor of the promise of juicy fees. 

Goldman's efforts to portray Leissner as a banker gone rogue in Asia were quickly undermined by the news that ex-CEO Lloyd Blankfein had met Low several times – once alone.

Ex-Bankers Charged

Nine years later, Leissner’s plea deal has already imperiled several other bankers: Goldman Goldman top executives Andrea Vella and Kate Richdale were hastily moved upstairs after Leissner’s plea deal surfaced.

Unlike Goldman, which did elaborate investment banking with 1MDB, Swiss banks are exposed on the wealth management side. Last week, two ex-directors at Falcon were criminally charged in Abu Dhabi, as finews.com reported. Finma had accused them last year of effectively hijacking the troubled Swiss private bank to launder money.

Both Falcon and BSI, now part of EFG International, are still saddled with the Swiss criminal probe. The proceedings against individual bankers – including former BSI Asian head Hanspeter Brunner – are likely to be dicier. The Singapore-based Brunner recently resurfaced as a consultant to a Swiss firm run by his son.

Wolf-Whale Film?

1MDB’s main protagonist, Jho Low, remains AWOL. One of his former banks, Rothschild AG, was rapped four months ago by Finma. The Swiss-based wealth manager,  part of the eponymous French-British dynasty which traces its roots back to the 18th century, received an outside regulatory monitor to make sure it follows through on improvements to its money laundering prevention measures.

Meanwhile, the 1MDB story has come full circle: a film production firm bought the rights to «Billion Dollar Whale» shortly after the book’s release. From Wolf to Whale, 1MDB is keeping both investigators and producers busy.