Malaysia will try former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng over 1MDB scandal before allowing extradition to US
- Malaysian authorities and the DoJ are investigating Goldman Sachs for its role in three bond sales
- Ng was charged in Kuala Lumpur with four counts of abetting the bank to provide misleading statements
Malaysia may postpone the extradition to the United States of a former Goldman Sachs banker wanted over a multibillion-dollar scandal at state fund 1MDB, as he has to face criminal charges in the southeast Asian nation first, its home minister said.
Roger Ng has been detained in Kuala Lumpur since November 1, soon after the US Department of Justice (DoJ) filed charges against him for allegedly laundering funds siphoned from the fund, 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
Separately, local Malaysian media reported Paul Stadlen, a former media adviser to former prime minister Najib Razak, is expected to be charged with money laundering. Stadlen advised Najib on political campaigns but reportedly fled the country after Najib lost power last May.
Last week a Malaysian court ruled for Ng to be extradited to the US, pending an order from the home affairs ministry.
“We will carry out the extradition, but we want to make sure that this case in Malaysia will be completed first,” Home Affairs Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said on Tuesday.
Malaysia’s attorney general had advised that Ng remain in the country until he has been tried on the separate criminal charges, he added.
“That is the advice of the attorney general and we will likely follow it,” Muhyiddin said at a news conference.