New York Times
Feb. 13, 2022
The global scandal over the looting of a big Malaysian infrastructure fund nearly a decade ago — a crime that tarnished the reputation of one of Wall Street’s premier banks — is about to play out once again in a federal courthouse in Brooklyn. The criminal money laundering and bribery trial of Roger Ng, a former Goldman Sachs banker, will begin Monday, with opening arguments and federal prosecutors calling their first witnesses. The trial comes nearly four years after Mr. Ng, 49, a Malaysian resident, was indicted by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn. And it comes 16 months after Goldman pleaded guilty to a criminal charge and paid $5 billion in fines for its role in the far-reaching foreign corruption bribery scheme.
Jho Low, the accused mastermind of the scheme to loot more than $4 billion from the big Malaysian fund known as 1MDB, remains a fugitive and is believed to be living in China. Tim Leissner, the former Goldman partner who pleaded guilty in the summer of 2018 and has been cooperating with the government, is expected to be the prosecution’s star witness. He could begin testifying as soon as this week.
steadyaku47 Comment :
Let us first put things in perspective and understand where we are at:
Goldman Sachs : Malaysia has reached $3.9 Billion settlement with Goldman Sachs in the 1MDB scandal. The deal settles charges in Malaysia against the Wall Street bank for its role in helping to raise hundreds of millions for 1MDB, a sovereign wealth fund that was used to pay for bribes to top officials in Malaysia and other countries and to line the pockets of Mr. Leissner, Mr. Ng, and Najib Razak - among others.
Roger Ng : The US Government is now prosecuting Roger Ng, a Malaysian, and a former Goldman Sachs banker. He is on trial for criminal money laundering and bribery and his part in the looting of 1MDB.
Tim Leissner : Former Goldman partner has, in 2018, pleaded guilty for his part in the looting of 1MDB. He agreed to forfeit $43.7 million as part of his guilty plea. He was once Goldman’s most powerful dealmakers in Asia. Tim Leissner is the US Government's prosecution’s star witness.
In the ongoing trial of Roger Ng, Tim Leissner alleged :
This morning, I intend to address the above allegation by Tim Leissner.
Tim Leissner has made this allegation without producing any evidence that Dr. Tawfiq Ayman, Zeti's husband, has been bribed. Tim Leissner never dealt with Dr. Tawfiq Ayman directly. Words alone cannot be taken as evidence.
Dr. Tawfiq Ayman : Jho Low paid US$16.22 million to Dr. Tawfiq Ayman’s company. What that payment is for, is still unclear. When Dr. Tawfiq Ayman knew that Jho Low was up to no good, he severed ties with Jho Low and handed over the US$16.22 million to the Singaporean authorities. That money has since been handed over to the Malaysian authorities in late 2021. Dr. Tawfiq Ayman has not been arrested in Malaysia or Singapore for AMLA or any financial wrongdoing.
Tan Sri Dr Zeti Aziz : The US$1 billion was transacted under her watch as Governor of Bank Negara. As the Central Banker, she is responsible to oversee the financial health of the currency and also monitor large transactions. If she was instructed by the then Prime Minister, Najib Razak to do the transaction, she could have refused to do as instructed and resign, or do as instructed and be an accessory to a crime - if any crime was committed.
PAC should investigate Bank Negara.
Who gave the instructions for the transaction, who sent out the transfer, and working upwards from the person that did the transfer, follow the paper trail every step of the way - who authorized and who checked off the transaction. In the banking industry, there will be a paper trail and authorization. Cannot run away.
Zeti was partially right to say Bank Negara does not have the power to prosecute without the approval of the Attorney General. It was like JPJ some time back where they did not have the power to stop vehicles. So every time they needed to carry out an operation, the police would be present.
In the case of Bank Negara, can Bank Negara now prosecute without the approval of the Attorney General? This is another matter that needs to be looked into....at another time.
For now, it is obvious that there are questions that need to be answered before Tan Sri Zeti and Dr. Tawfiq Ayman can or cannot be cleared of any wrongdoing in the US$1 Billion transactions mentioned by Tim Leissner in the New York courts a few days ago.
Enough said.
Hussein Hamid
24 February 2022
Melbourne.
Excellent Ingredients for a great movie