Goldman Sachs former chief Lloyd Blankfein met Jho Low, Malaysian banker embroiled in 1MDB corruption probe
- Prosecutors were examining their meeting as part of a criminal investigation of the bank
- The then chief executive had a one-on-one encounter with the Malaysian financier, according to The New York Times
Goldman Sachs has said Lloyd Blankfein held a meeting in 2012 with Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho, who is at the centre of the country’s fraud and bribery scandal.
The comments come after The New York Times reported that US prosecutors are examining the meeting as part of a criminal investigation of the bank, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter. The newspaper reported that Goldman Sachs’ then chief executive Blankfein had a one-on-one encounter with Low, but that was denied by the bank.
“Blankfein had an introductory, high-level meeting in December 2012 with the chief executive of Aabar, which was an existing client of the firm,” Goldman Sachs said in a statement, referring to the Abu Dhabi investment fund. “At Aabar’s request, Mr Low accompanied the CEO to that meeting.” He “does not recall any one-on-one meeting with Mr Low nor have we seen any record to suggest such a meeting occurred.”
The furore surrounding Goldman Sachs’s role in raising money for the Malaysian state investment fund, known as 1MDB, has weighed on the bank’s shares after Malaysia’s finance minister said he would seek a full refund of all the fees it paid for 1MDB deals.