Former Hong Kong-based fund sues Goldman over 1MDB links in 2011 Malaysian bank merger
Primus Pacific Partners alleges that Goldman used its advising role to ‘secretly curry favour’ with PM Najib Razak to help the bank’s bid
In a new development linked to the 1MDB corruption scandal, a former Hong Kong-based investment fund is suing Goldman Sachs for conflict of interest in advising a 2011 Malaysian bank merger.
Primus Pacific Partners said on Tuesday that Goldman and its then managing director in Southeast Asia, Tim Leissner, concealed its close relationship with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak when the bank was recruited to advise EON Capital, partly owned by Primus, in its US$1.7 billion sale to Malaysia’s Hong Leong Bank (HLB).
Najib “had close family and business ties with HLB” giving him an interest in the success of HLB’s takeover of EON, Primus charged in a statement.
At the same time that Goldman was advising EON on the merger, though, the New York investment bank was also the key advisor to 1MDB, the government investment fund established and chaired by Najib.
Goldman used its role advising EON to “secretly curry favour with the Prime Minister by using the (EON) board’s confidential information” to help Hong Leong’s bid for EON, it said.
