Malaysia has filed criminal charges against Goldman Sachs and two former employees in connection with a corruption and money laundering probe at the sovereign wealth fund 1MDB.
U.S. bank Goldman Sachs has been under scrutiny for its role in helping to raise funds for the 1MDB investment fund. It is being investigated in at least six countries. Malaysia filed the charges against the bank and its former bankers Tim Leissner and Roger Ng. Leissner served as chairman of Goldman's South East Asia division and left the bank in 2016. Ng was a managing director at Goldman until his departure in May 2014.
Goldman Sachs called the charges «misdirected» and said it continued to co-operate with all authorities. Malaysia has also brought charges against former 1MDB employee Jasmine Loo and financier Jho Low.
False and Misleading Statements
Malaysia's attorney general, Tommy Thomas, said he would press for fines that were «well in excess» of the $600 million in fees received by Goldman Sachs, as well as the $2.7 billion that was allegedly misappropriated by 1MDB, financial website «The Street» reported.
«The charges arise from the commission and abetment of false or misleading statements by all the accused in order to dishonestly misappropriate $2.7 billion from the proceeds of three bonds issued by the subsidiaries of 1MDB, which were arranged and underwritten by Goldman Sachs,» Thomas said in a statement from the attorney's office. «If no criminal proceedings are instituted against the accused, their undermining of our financial system and market integrity will go unpunished.»
Last month, Leissner, Ng and Low were served with criminal charges in the U.S. in relation to 1MDB.
