The trial of Roger Ng, the only banker from Goldman Sachs to face U.S. charges in the siphoning of billions of dollars from Malaysian development fund 1MDB, is finally set to begin this week after a two-year delay due to the pandemic, according to a report from Bloomberg on Monday.
Ng, who has pleaded not guilty, could face as much as 30 years in jail, the report said, noting Ng has claimed he was the first to inform Goldman Sachs’ compliance department about Malaysian player Jho Low, an alleged mastermind of the scheme.
Goldman banker Tim Leissner, who already pleaded guilty in 2018 to conspiring in bribery and conspiracy to launder money, has agreed to cooperate and is expected to be a key witness at Ng’s trial, the report said.
Billions looted
The scandal of nearly as much as $4.5 billion looted from 1MDB in the runup to a Malaysian election – with some of the stolen funds allegedly used to bolster the political fortunes of then Prime Minister Najib Razak – has touched banks globally.
J.P. Morgan, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, ANZ, private bank Falcon, Swiss private bank BSI, Coutts, UBS, Credit Suisse, DBS, Standard Chartered and UOB were all touched by the scandal amid lapses in due diligence.
Recovering funds
Some of the 1MDB funds allegedly went to Najib’s stepson, Riza Aziz, to finance the film The Wolf of Wall Street, a tale of Wall Street greed and corruption starring Leonardo DiCaprio, who was nominated for an Oscar for his role. Ironically, Malaysia did not allow the film to be shown in the country, deeming it too risqué.
In June 2021, Malaysia’s government said it had received MYR16.39 billion ($391.56 million) of seized and repatriated 1MDB funds, with expectations of another MYR2.83 billion coming from Ambank Group.
