The senior executive, which helped Malaysian state-owned development and investment company 1MDB arrange bond offerings in 2012-2013, is the third Goldman banker to be barred from banking activities in the United States.
Andrea Vella, Goldman Sachs' former co-head of investment banking in Asia who put on leave in 2018 over his involvement in the 1MDB scandal, has been handed a lifetime ban on banking activities by the U.S. Federal Reserve, according to a statement released on Tuesday.
«Vella engaged in unsafe and unsound practices by failing to ensure that the involvement of third-party Low Taek Jho (also known as Jho Low) in the 1MDB offerings, which indicated heightened potential underwriting risks, was fully escalated within the firm,» the Fed said in an order dated January 31.
Vella did not have to admit wrongdoing nor face a financial penalty. Two other Goldman executives involved in the scheme to divert proceeds – Tim Leissner and Roger Ng – have been charged by the U.S. Justice Department. They both are also prohibited from banking, with Leissner fined $1.42 million.
